Reskilling is rapidly emerging as a key factor for success, both for employees looking to stay relevant in their careers and for businesses aiming to maintain a competitive edge. As the job market evolves, equipping the workforce with new skills is essential for adapting to technological advances and shifting industry demands, ensuring both individual growth and organizational resilience.
It is easy to see that technology is one of the main drivers of this change. For example, the adoption of new technologies is transforming industries. In addition, automation and digitalization are declining certain jobs, while others are emerging, requiring a shift in skills. This causes businesses to prioritize technological skills in their skill inventories.
What is reskilling
Reskilling is a proactive action of a company to ensure that the teams have the competencies and skills they will need in the future. Companies can use it to prepare employees for entirely new roles within the organization. It requires that business leaders identify the emerging needs of the market and equip the teams with the necessary skills to tackle these new challenges.
For the employees, reskilling is about learning entirely new skills for a job that might be completely different from what they’ve been doing now.
There is a distinction between reskilling and upskilling, which is good to keep in mind. While reskilling is acquiring new skills, upskilling is about enhancing the existing skills. With upskilling, we can increase our effectiveness in our current roles. It’s an ongoing process aimed at deepening our expertise and maximizing our potential in our current positions.
Essentially, reskilling is about horizontal movement—preparing for a different job function—while upskilling is about vertical movement—advancing within your current career path.
Benefits of reskilling
Securing the future with reskilling
Reskilling prepares employees for the future, making them adaptable to new technologies and job requirements. This adaptability ensures long-term employability and skilled employees. In addition, with technological advancements, new skill gaps emerge within industries. Reskilling helps in bridging these gaps, ensuring that businesses remain competitive and innovative.
Reskilled employees can easily move across different roles within the organization, increasing operational flexibility. This agility is crucial for quickly adapting to market changes and seizing new opportunities.
Read more: Combining business processes and skills data: practical examples
Talent management
Investing in employees’ growth through reskilling can significantly improve their morale and engagement. When employees feel valued and see growth opportunities, they are more likely to be motivated and committed to their roles.
Organizations prioritizing reskilling are more attractive to prospective employees and more likely to retain their current workforce. This creates a culture of continuous learning and development that appeals to ambitious professionals.
Reskilling in organizations
The role of business leaders in reskilling
For effective reskilling in organizations, business leaders should steer the direction. They need to first identify future industry trends and organizational needs. With these insights, leaders can guide the development of reskilling programs and align with business goals.
This leadership-driven approach ensures reskilling efforts are focused, relevant, and integrated with the company’s growth vision. Business leaders together with HR are also in a position to make the reskilling process a core part of the organization’s development culture.
Targeted learning programs
After identifying the business needs, it’s crucial to formulate the needs as skill target levels and utilize a skills inventory for a skills gap analysis to understand the current capabilities of the workforce versus what will be needed in the future. Based on this analysis, organizations can develop targeted learning programs tailored to close these gaps. Moreover, personalized learning paths for employees can make reskilling efforts more effective.
Partnerships with educational institutions or online learning platforms can provide employees with access to the necessary courses and materials. Encouraging a culture of continuous learning and making time for education during work hours can significantly increase participation rates. Organizations can allocate 5-10% of work time for employees to engage in learning activities. This means setting aside a specific number of hours each month or year dedicated to pursuing educational opportunities.
Review and update the reskilling strategy
Regularly reviewing and updating the reskilling strategy is essential to keep it aligned with industry trends and organizational goals. This process isn’t just a one-time effort but a continuous cycle of evaluation and adjustment. Business leaders play a crucial role by staying informed about industry shifts and technological advancements. Regular reviews, ideally quarterly or bi-annually, ensure that the learning and development initiatives remain relevant and impactful.
Incorporating feedback from employees about the effectiveness and relevance of the training programs is also vital. Their insights can highlight new areas of interest or gaps in the current strategy. Furthermore, by dedicating 5-10% of work time to learning, organizations signal a commitment to growth, encouraging employees to actively participate in their professional development.
Read more: Skills management strategy: All you need to know
Future skills
The World Economic Forum’s “Future of Work” report highlights a pivotal shift: an estimated 44% of workers’ skills will undergo disruption by 2028.
This report underscores the future importance of skills for cognitive abilities such as analytical and creative thinking. Additionally, technological literacy and self-efficacy skills are spotlighted as crucial competencies for the future workplace.
Employers estimate that 44% of workers’ skills will be disrupted in the next five years
World Economic Forum, Future of jobs report, 2023
Understanding and embracing these evolving skill demands will be essential for individuals and organizations alike to thrive in the rapidly transforming job landscape. Preparing for these changes now can position professionals and companies at the forefront of innovation and success.