Upskilling

What is Upskilling?

Upskilling are workplace program that allows employees to develop and expand their abilities to ensure they are well-trained for the job and reduces potential skill gaps. Upskilling focuses on improving current employees' skill sets so they can advance in their jobs and find different roles and opportunities within the company.

Why is upskilling important? 

Learning is a lifelong journey. With many jobs evolving, staying competitive means developing new professional skills to ensure a worker is up to date with new market changes. Especially with the rapid advancements in technology, changing industry dynamics, and increasing demands for specialized skills have all made upskilling a necessary component of career success. These additional skills improve the worker's current role performance and can potentially advance them in their career path.

Benefits of upskilling

• Job roles and their requirements can change quickly.
• It helps an organization stay more competitive by closing skill gaps.
• It decreases the need to recruit outside the company to fill skill gaps.
• It increases employee satisfaction, boosting motivation, performance, and morale.
• Hiring freezes and tight job markets mean organizations must find new talent for required roles in-house, which upskilling enables.
• Companies that choose to upskill rather than fill skill gaps with outside talent save money and time by reducing the need for hiring, onboarding ,and training processes.

Upskilling Strategy 

Companies must be able to identify the current skill gaps within their organization to align upskilling efforts to workplace needs. Here are some additional ways to upskill: 

1. Job-specific upskilling and credential programs: This strategy offers employees training specific to their jobs that can enhance their current skill sets. 
2. Personal development plans: Encouraging employees to create a personal development plan that addresses the abilities they want to improve and the new skills they would like to learn empowers them to create their own upskilling program.‍
3. Devote time during the workday: Employees with personal development plans should be given time during the workday to dedicate to their upskilling efforts.