Steps to implement upskilling and reskilling across all tech job roles and levels in your organisation

Introduction  

Finding and retaining the proper workers is a competitive struggle for many businesses. This challenge manifests itself in various forms, including a shortage of suitable applicants and a scarcity of time to spend on candidates. If you take the appropriate preliminary steps, upgrading the skills of the technical employees you already have on hand may help alleviate this shortfall.  

Increasing one’s level of expertise is more important than ever, considering the damage that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused to the world’s economy. Because of the containment measures that have been in place since March 2020, entire industries like hospitality and travel have been rendered inactive, and this has led to a significant reduction in demand in many other industries, which has resulted in the loss of jobs for millions of people all over the world. The financial crisis accelerated the trend of digitalization and automation and boosted the demand for new skills, the majority of which are digital.  

However, many CEOs know that increasing one’s expertise is much simpler. According to a report published by PwC in 2019, upskilling & reskilling programs were not executed as quickly as CEOs would have desired before the pandemic began. Most CEOs surveyed for that report agreed with the statement that “extensive upskilling & reskilling was the most critical strategy to address a potential skills gap in their firm.” However, after one year, just 18% of them reported that their firm had made “substantial progress” in implementing a program to improve employees’ skills.  

Upskilling & Reskilling: What’s the Difference?  

Upskilling is about becoming more specialized, whereas reskilling focuses on becoming more versatile. Both will be necessary for your success during the next ten years. According to the business executives questioned for the most current research on the Future of Jobs, approximately forty percent of their existing staff will require further training in the not-too-distant future. A virtually universal expectation among top executives is that workers acquire new abilities while on the job.   

It is in your company’s best interest to provide your staff with the training necessary to fulfill new or existing jobs since they will have a deeper understanding of how your business operates. They are familiar with your clientele, can negotiate company politics, comprehend various communication channels, and so on. New employees do not have this level of understanding and will require some training before they can catch up.  

In addition, the correct approach for upskilling & reskilling makes your firm more appealing, not just to the people who already work for you but also to people who might work for you in the future. Your organization provides a path for professional advancement. People won’t be confined to their roles for an infinite amount of time. They will gain knowledge and develop alongside you. That is a tempting offer for both current workers and potential recruits to consider.  

Upskilling & reskilling employees are two other ways to make your firm more flexible. Because you understand how else to teach your staff the abilities they need for the job, you will have the ability to respond more quickly to advances in the outside world. If you are forced to rely on recruits for any new development, you will, at some point, find yourself in a position where you cannot find people who possess the necessary talents.  

Benefits of upskilling & reskilling for all tech job roles

Ten years ago, the Skills Matrix was developing at a much slower pace than it is currently. Almost on an annual basis, new competencies are made available. Data Science, Machine Learning, and Augmented Reality were all relatively unknown concepts ten years ago; yet today, they are in high demand in various fields. It is, therefore, of the utmost importance for virtually all companies to ensure that their employees are equipped with the appropriate skills and can adapt to the shifting ecology.   

The Upskilling & reskilling program is where you’ll find its application in this scenario. Providing employees with opportunities to improve their skills contributes to an endless cycle of increased Performance and secures their continued employment. Studies indicate that current training staff is significantly more cost-effective than acquiring new personnel. Hence this practice is strongly recommended.  

For example, a survey conducted by Forbes indicates that the field of artificial intelligence will give rise to 58 million new job opportunities by the year 2022. Therefore, it would be more appropriate to create staff upskilling & reskilling programs in the company rather than embarking on a hiring binge to fill open positions.  

It wouldn’t be entirely inaccurate to state that the employees would acquire new skills while on the job instead of outside of work. This affords them possibilities that are beneficial to their careers as well. Here are some benefits of upskilling & reskilling across all tech job roles and levels in your organization.  

1. Reduction of time, cost and resources

First, finding a qualified and suitable candidate for the job is difficult. It can result in additional costs to the company, like paying the salary of new employees. Through training or upskilling existing employees, companies will also develop multitasking abilities by expanding the knowledge and experience of the employees.  

2. Retention of Employees 

Anyone unhappy or enjoying working for a business that does not take the time to invest in their career growth is looking for an organization that can accommodate the advancement of employees. Training and education create a culture of learning in an organization that encourages employees to stay in the company for a more extended period, increasing employee retention.  

3. Better & Efficient Performance

The process of upskilling enhances the capabilities of existing employees by implementing activities that assist employees in staying up to the most current advancements and trends on the market. This makes employees more efficient and allows a business to achieve its goals quickly.  

4. Aids in Self-Analysis  

Through upskilling, employees can evaluate their strengths and weaknesses, enabling them to know what new skills they need to acquire to enhance their abilities. Employee development helps employees become adept at analysing their timing to time changes.  

5. Increase of Level of Productivity 

The most important goal for every company is to improve productivity. Training employees can help understand clients’ needs from different perspectives and give satisfaction to them. This boosts the earnings of a business, making it successful in the business.  

Steps to implement upskilling across all tech job roles and levels in your organization  

1. Carry out a Skill Gap Analysis

A skills gap analysis is an evaluation carried out by HR and L&D teams to identify whether or not the present skills possessed by their staff fulfill the requirements of the business as a whole. A result of a skill gap analysis is a list comprising skills employees already possess, along with those abilities they need to improve and those skills they need to grow.  

From there, you may upskill your employees and establish a team of qualified individuals that can accomplish your overall company objectives by taking online courses and participating in training programs to close the skill gap.  

2. Include Skill Acquisition in Your Organization’s Employee Development Plans 

To get the tech workforce on board with the concept of upskilling, employers need to underline the significance of developing skills for the future growth of employees’ careers. Only then will employees be willing to support the idea. This can be accomplished by including specific abilities in the targets and learning objectives for each employee.   

Align the development plans you have for your employees with the future workplace abilities that will support the overall corporate objectives while also meeting the specific development needs of each employee identified by skill gap analysis. This planning process will enable your workforce to acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to be skillful and constructive in their role. They will also enable your employees to prepare themselves for the future by providing them with the desired workplace skills, allowing organizations to improve their bottom-line results.  

3. Determine Which Method of Employee Training Will Best Suit Your Needs  

People learn in various ways, including by seeing, doing, having someone assist them, etc. Some people are visual learners, while others learn best through hands-on experience. To determine which method of employee training will be most effective for your workforce, learning and development teams need to understand their employees’ learning styles and consider other factors such as the objectives, goals, cost, and timeline of their training.  

eLearning, On-the-Job Training, and Instructor-Led Learning are some of the employee training approaches that have proven to be the most successful. Training Activities for Groups That Include Role-Based training, Coaching, and Simulation, Gamification, Case Studies, Video Training, Cross-Training Video Training, and Blended learning have shown superior results.  

4. Leverage the Use of Modern Technology 

Utilize software explicitly designed for staff training to deliver upskilling programs effectively. You can maintain compliance and security, track employee engagement, analyze Performance, and gather feedback with the help of these software tools. You can also develop training modules that are engaging for participants. Take, for example, one of the most widely used pieces of educational and instructional software:  

 Learning Experience Platform: A professional LXP manages all aspects of staff training, including the creation, delivery, and tracking of training material. This includes tracking how employees are using the training they get. It assists in identifying and evaluating learning goals on an individual and an organizational level, monitors employee progress toward attaining those goals, and collects data to enhance the learning process.  

Techademy provides one of the best and most unique learning experience platforms for your corporate training needs to increase your ROI by a significant percentage.   

5. Continue to Communicate and Monitor Your Progress 

The final thing that has to be done is an assessment of the whole program to determine whether or not it was effective and whether or not it achieved its goals. As was just discussed, employee training software allows you to evaluate your various educational and professional development programs’ success. Monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs) like course completion rates, training progression rates, assessment scores, lowering skill gap analysis, improving proficiency and productivity, helps determine the effectiveness of training and whether or not knowledge or skills are acquired by the end of your upskilling program.  

Consider using the following measures to evaluate the success of your training:  

 Employee feedback: Obtaining feedback from employees after a training session can assist in evaluating the extent to which the training successfully taught employees new skills.  

Assessments: Tests, quizzes, or demonstrations are some of the ways that employees can have their new skills, knowledge, and learnings evaluated after participating in upskilling training programs.  

After completing the training, you should monitor your staff to determine whether or not they are using the newly acquired abilities in their day-to-day responsibilities.  

Conclusion  

Implementation of upskilling & reskilling across all tech job roles and levels in your organization can help employees gain the skills they need to do their jobs effectively. This will help you meet the customer needs you’re committed to while ensuring that your team is well-equipped to work on complex problems.