Tips and tricks to reskill or upskill your workforce

What are upskilling and reskilling?

Although these words are often used interchangeably, it’s important to understand the difference between them. Upskilling is when an employee takes a course related to their current skill set to boost their expertise and performance. A software engineer learning a new coding language to expand their skillset would be an example of this. Reskilling, however, is when an employee learns a new skill that is unrelated to their existing capabilities. This could look like a salesperson taking a copywriting course to move into a marketing role.

Key differences between upskilling and reskilling

It’s important for your employees to know whether they need to upskill or reskill. If they’re looking to build on existing skills to gain more knowledge and potentially move into a more senior role, upskilling is the answer. If they want a new challenge or a career change, it’s time to reskill. Reskilling may even be necessary if their job becomes obsolete due to technological advances.

Employers need to understand that reskilling and upskilling their workforce will combat skill gaps within their organisation, but this isn’t the only advantage. Let’s dig a little deeper into the benefits you can expect by implementing an upskilling and reskilling program.

What are the benefits of reskilling or upskilling?

Reskilling and upskilling contribute massively to career growth and development. Upskilling helps employees to perform more efficiently at work by closing gaps in their knowledge or capabilities. Reskilling to move from one career to another gives an employee experience in two fields, which ultimately makes them more adaptable and versatile. By implementing an upskilling and reskilling program, you’ll quickly see increased productivity and resilience across your organisation, with employees being better equipped to tackle challenges.

Successful programs can also help with retaining talent in your organisation, seeing as employees are less likely to leave if they have access to learning and development opportunities. Reskilling can be a key contributor to internal mobility within a business. Instead of hiring externally, which can be costly, HR professionals should consider implementing reskilling programs to allow existing employees to fill skill gaps in the organisation.

Implementing successful reskilling and upskilling programs

Here are some key steps to follow when implementing a reskilling and upskilling program:

• Make it accessible

Not every employee learns in the same way, so it’s important to vary the materials available. Where written text is helpful for some, others may prefer to learn from videos or interactive quizzes.

• Ensure that the course content is engaging and useful

Employees are more likely to continually enrol on courses if they have benefitted from them in the past.

• Vary the format

Implement a mix of instructor-led workshops for those who benefit from in-person interaction, and online training options that cater to remote workers.

• Encourage senior leaders to promote the program

This ensures that employees are aware of the opportunities available to them and fosters an environment of continuous learning.

• Invest in a skills matrix

A skills matrix is a visual tool that displays the skills required for a project or role, and whether an employee has those skills or not. It can be used to compare employees within an organisation to identify who would be the best fit. A skills matrix allows you to make the most of your internal resources, instead of having to outsource talent at an extra cost.

Future trends in reskilling and upskilling

Digital transformation will have a huge impact on skill requirements in the future. Despite recent anxieties about AI making jobs redundant, The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2023 predicts that in the next five years, 69 million jobs will be created, and this is largely due to technological advancements. AI is creating new jobs, such as machine learning specialists. In the next few years, learning how to work with AI will become an in-demand skill. Employees will need to learn how to engage with AI tools, or how to use them to manage workloads, to keep up with the changing demands of their workplaces.

To close your skills gap, you need to know whether to focus on recruitment, retention, or development. Our five-minute quiz will help you identify your priority.