Blog 3 - Upskilling: A Strategic Response to Changing Skill Demands

Upskilling: A Strategic Response to Changing Skill Demands
 

What is employee upskilling?

Upskilling is the process of learning new skills or of teaching workers new skills.

On the other hand, an upskilling culture entails teaching staff new, advanced skills in order to close talent gaps. It engages your team members in ongoing training and assists them in progressing along their existing career path. These individuals may have spent several years with your company and have a thorough awareness of both your culture and your clients (Brush, 2020).

Why upskilling important in today’s economy?

Technology evolves and advances industries at a fast pace. This can create a gap between the existing workforce’s skills and the skills that are now necessary to effectively execute their jobs. Upskilling presents one major solution to this labor problem. By advancing the skills of current and future professionals, the skills gap can be bridged. Additionally, both employees and employers will benefit from less turnover, expanded growth opportunities, and increased work productivity and satisfaction. In summary, upskilling allows working individuals to take charge of their own career mobility and employers get top talent as well.

Most people upskill to stand out from the crowd. Yet, after the past year, it’s now more important than ever. Here’s why:

1.     The impact of COVID 

Unemployment rates have risen dramatically as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic, while job security has deteriorated. This has had a negative impact on people's livelihoods and resulted in a significant drop in the global economy.

However, as history shows us, a global pandemic or major natural disaster is usually followed by a period of prosperity. Research has found that even though COVID still exists, the world is on the verge of a post-pandemic boom.

Gaining new abilities will put you in a better position to take advantage of a stronger economy, especially with all of this growth and optimism. So, if you want to ensure that you have a competitive advantage, now is the time to consider updating your present abilities or altering your professional path entirely (Talent Guard, 2022).

2.     Growing digital technologies and innovation 

While digitalization was underway prior to COVID, the pandemic has accelerated the rise of the digital economy. This has led to some major developments in the world of work. These include:

a.      Digital transformation

While businesses were previously hesitant to convert their legacy systems to digital, the pandemic practically forced them to do so. They needed to work digitally if they wanted to keep doing business while the rest of the world was in lockdown.

As a result, the development of new apps, platforms, and software has exploded. Employers have had to retrain their workers to use this technology as a result. Yet, where technology is replacing workplace jobs, such as traditional administrative roles, workers are having to reskill to find other roles.

b.     New job roles

Digitalization is creating new job positions that didn’t exist 10 years ago. These are typically associated with using and developing technology such as: app developers, cloud computing specialists, social media managers and user experience managers.

And the current demand for these jobs is on the rise. As a result, more people are now looking to gain these skills and find work within the burgeoning tech sector.

c.      Automation

One of the drawbacks of technological advancement is that it is displacing a big number of low-wage, manual occupations. Although automation has been happening for a long time, it is expected to accelerate significantly in the future years. As their jobs become redundant, these workers are having to reskill or upskill in order to find new work.

3.     Skills shortages 

Digitalization also creates a demand for new skills – and this is proving to be problematic since there is now a global shortage of skills connected to new technology-based jobs such as Emotional intelligence, Creativity, Judgement and decision-making, Negotiation, Cognitive flexibility etc.

Ways to Upskill employees

1.  Bite-sized education, called micro learning, comprises short lessons—roughly three to six minutes long—designed to meet a narrow learning objective.

2.     Connecting experienced employees with newer team members fosters a sense of community, while also rounding out existing training initiatives. Mentorship opportunities are particularly useful when individuals are about to take on a more senior position. More experienced team members can encourage mentees and provide guidance as they step into a new role.

3.   Encourage employees to forge their own learning paths by removing barriers and building incentives. Some ways managers can do this are by:

a.      Allocating paid training time.

b.     Reward employees who upskill in their own time.

c.      Allow employees the flexibility to attend workshops and seminars during work hours.

4.     Addressing the skills gap with career pathing

A career path is unique to each employee and assists them in breaking down the steps necessary to attain their long-term career objectives and advance their careers either laterally or through promotion. It necessitates a grasp of the knowledge, skills, and personal characteristics required, as well as the specialized abilities and additional training required to achieve those goals (Association for Talent Development, 2019).

Figure 1 : Upskilling

References

Association for Talent Development, 2019. Patty Gaul. [Online]
Available at: https://www.td.org/insights/a-strategic-approach-to-upskilling-and-reskilling
[Accessed 28 4 2022].

Brush, k., 2020. Tech Target. [Online]
Available at: https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/upskilling
[Accessed 28 4 2022].

Talent Guard, 2022. Talent Guard. [Online]
Available at: https://www.talentguard.com/blog/reskilling-upskilling-strategic-response-changing-skill-demands
[Accessed 28 4 2022].