Upskilling and The Future of Your Workforce

“Upskilling has become…the indispensable response to the ongoing technological and economic transformation.”  -Nicolas Schmit, former European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights

Now more than ever, it is imperative that a company has the most qualified and skilled employees to ensure a peak level of work performance.  Since the pandemic, finding candidates that have the right skills and enough motivation have been less than ideal. Finding new ways to combat the workforce shortages will help companies get ahead of the everchanging job market and plan for the future.

Upskilling is one of the best ways employers can prepare for the future. Upskilling is gaining new and relevant abilities needed to perform a job. Upskilling is not the same as reskilling, where employees receive additional training for a new role. Upskilled employees get training that assists them in the role they already have. Employers can assess the skills that will most likely be needed in the future to determine how to best optimize their current talent and create an upskilling initiative for their workers.

Retaining top talent through hard times is important so here are some tips to follow when thinking about upskilling your workforce.

1. A Learning and Development Strategy

   • Create a process to enhance your employee’s skills

   • Analyze and define training needs

   • Develop a skills plan that defines

   • Monitor and evaluate employee progress

2. Job Rotation

   • Rotate employees around in your organization

   • If you have multiple offices, set-up an office exchange

   • Have staff participate in job shadowing

3. Job Enrichment

   • Create new ways for staff to be engaged in the work they do

   • Have contests tailored to specific skills needed for a specific role and/or knowledge about the company

   • Implement a Bonus Program around company goals

   • Hang reminders about the work you do and why it is important and make it personable to your employees

4. Peer Coaching and Mentoring

   • Have experienced staff members teach  less experienced employees

   • Create a “buddy system” or assign staff members to the same skills training

5. Outsource Help

   • Hire specialists or industry experts to train employees

   • Provide resources for your staff if they want to learn outside of business hours