Upskilling & Reskilling: Need to stay relevant in the job market

The job market landscape is becoming increasingly turbulent in the face of continuing economic recession and rapid technological advancement. Formerly confident in their positions, professionals today are now finding themselves in an unstable position with the possibility of being obsolete or being replaced by those with the ‘recent’ educaiton and a more ‘modern’ skillset. However, this is not a narrative of doom and gloom. Instead, it is a call to action: an opportunity for professionals to seize control of their career trajectories through upskilling and reskilling, ensuring their relevance in the dynamic job market.

Let’s now breakdown the entire concept and address the real work to do:

1. What is upskilling?

Upskilling is the strategic enhancement of an employee’s skill set, aimed at boosting their proficiency and adaptability in their current roles. Typically, as employees gain more experience within their current field of expertise, their capabilities and mastery of their role will also expand. Upskilling is usually an intentional learning process where employees gain exposure to deeper knowledge through content-based coursework and experiential learning opportunities.

Upskilling can include developing employees’ mastery of both technical and soft skills. Often times, one of the main goals of any upskilling initiative is to help employees gain the competencies needed to take on a more advanced role within their respective organisations.

2. When to upskill?

Ultimately, upskilling will never be a one-and-done process. As the speed of digital innovation accelerates and the half-life of learned knowledge shrinks, employees will now need to continue honing new competencies to keep up withe the pace. Since the World Economic Forum predicts that nearly a quarter of all jobs will change within the next five years and 69 million new jobs will be created, employees must keep developing their skills so they’re qualified to take on these shifting responsibilities.

The most successful learners are always striving to acquire new skills, and leaders and managers are no exception. While reaching a management position requires a certain level of expertise, both functional and behavioural. The process of learning and development should not end there, especially in today’s digital age, where new innovations are constantly emerging and changing the skills required for all roles.

3. Who gets reskilled and when?

By now, I assume that as readers, you know that upskilling and reskilling will be essential in the new world of efficient workplace . However, there’s still a lot of uncertainty about the best approach to skill-building. Should all of our employees be included in upskilling and reskilling? Or is it better to save it for the high performers and the high potentials?

The best career pathing tools take it one step further by presenting users with an immediate solution to start turning their career goals into tangible realities. AI-driven tools can identify the skill gaps that employees need to bridge to reach their desired roles and show them learning and development resources to get them up to speed.

4. How Upskilling And Reskilling Differ?

We are not alone if we think upskilling and reskilling are analogous. However, their objectives are different, and they pursue different outcomes.

1. Upskilling means providing education and training so someone usually, employees can improve their existing job skills and learn newer skills that help them do their job better or more efficiently. For example, HR Managers who uses Microsoft Excel might need to learn a new process to integrate HR software with employee self-help portal to reduce physical interaction.
2. Reskilling means providing training to help an employee move into a different job or pursue a different career paths. For example, a market research analyst who wants to transition to a data science career probably has the required basic research skills but will need training in other areas.

5. Why these skills are critical than ever?

Skill-building has always been important, but recent events are raising the stakes. We’re now in what’s often called “the Fourth Industrial Revolution”, a time in which advances in AI and automation are revolutionising the way we work. Since the pace of change is accelerating and the half-life of skills is shrinking, developing new competencies can no longer be an afterthought.

Instead, research points to upskilling and reskilling as prerequisites for success. The World Economic Forum (WEFu) predicts that half of all employees will need reskilling by 2025, as the adoption of technology increases. While the rise in automation and AI isn’t going to push employees out of the job market as some people once feared, The World Economic Forum predicts that it will create as many as 69 million new roles. And although that’s good news, these jobs are going to come with new sets of required knowledge, which is where the increased need for upskilling and reskilling comes into play.

Bottomline

As Eleanor Roosevelt rightly said: The future belongs to those willing to learn, adapt, and grow. In a rapidly changing job market, staying stagnant is not an option. Professionals must continuously learn and adapt to stay relevant. By embracing upskilling and reskilling, we can ensure that we remain a valuable contributor in our respective fields, no matter how much those fields may change. Leaders must find opportunities to cut costs and invest in those who can help keep them moving in the right direction.

Lastly, Upskilling undoubtedly benefits employees, but it also brings numerous advantages to organisations. Companies that invest in their employees’ development through upskilling initiatives experience improved employee retention, enhanced performance, and a boost in job satisfaction. When employees feel supported in their professional growth, they are likelier to stay longer in the organisation and contribute positively to its success.

About the Author

Muhammad Sajwani is a C-Level HR, Transformation Leader, Board Advisor, Business Coach & Organisational Consultant working in the capacity of Managing Director, Evolve HR. He is an author, columnist and a contributor who besides writing for other platforms also regularly writes at BizCatalyst 360. He brings along 30+ years of local & international experience. He is a change catalyst specializing in unleashing the human Dreamgenius through Leadership, Creativity and Change Management. Muhammad has been instrumental in helping organizations come to terms with organizational changes like right-sizing and business process re-engineering. His innovative approach & high personal competence encourages people to not only accept change, but also to excel in it. Muhammad has diverse experience in conducting strategic & management development programs, conferences & events for organizations across sectors.