The demand for new skills and capabilities provides your organization with an opportunity and a challenge. The workforce is automating rapidly with estimates stating automation will displace 85 million jobs by 2025. The World Economic Forum predicts that upskilling and reskilling will meet the demand for 97 million new jobs created by emerging technologies.
The need for development is imminent and important for every job, department, sector and company. The most competitive businesses will be those that upskill and reskill existing employees.
What Is Upskilling?
Upskilling is teaching your employees new skills. It is a workplace trend that facilitates ongoing learning and development opportunities to address skills gaps in your organization. Technology creates opportunities for specialization and challenges companies to fill the digital talent gap.
Upskilling focuses on enhancing existing employees’ skills to help them advance within the company. Techniques include microlearning, online courses, mentoring and lunch-and-learn sessions.
What Is Reskilling?
Reskilling is training and developing your employees to do an entirely different job. It is a vital strategy for businesses to meet their staffing needs and remain relevant in a changing world. Reskilling offers a lateral learning experience that enables individuals to access new organizational roles and opportunities.
Reskilling prevents layoffs when workers’ roles become redundant due to automation. Layoffs impact employee morale, and severance and recruitment costs impact your bottom line. Reskilling reduces employee turnover, helps them pivot and allows you to reach business goals.
Why Are Upskilling and Reskilling Important?
Upskilling and reskilling are important because, with new technology and disruptions, organizational transformation is vital to remain competitive. Transformation requires companies to address expanding skill gaps and empower the workforce through learning and development.
Upskilling and reskilling employees help improve worker engagement and retention, optimize productivity, increase customer satisfaction and make your organization resilient in an ever-changing landscape.
Organizations that do not address their skill gaps through upskilling and reskilling of staff will face massive financial implications and may lose market share or see other challenges. Firms investing in employees, addressing gaps and focusing on learning and development will see a return on investment (ROI).
Partner With Us for Upskilling and Reskilling Training Strategies
We know the importance of upskilling and reskilling employees, and we’re here to assist. The Center for Leadership Studies (CLS) has over 50 years of experience training and developing leaders. We provide influence-focused courses to build trust, increase productivity and drive organizational behavior change. We have a global footprint spanning over 35 countries and have deployed our Situational Leadership® Model in over 70% of Fortune 500 companies.
Contact us to learn how we partner with organizations to develop their most valuable assets—their people.
