{"id":150749,"date":"2024-01-15T11:45:47","date_gmt":"2024-01-15T11:45:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/?post_type=definition&p=150749"},"modified":"2024-01-15T11:45:47","modified_gmt":"2024-01-15T11:45:47","slug":"upskilling","status":"publish","type":"definition","link":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/upskilling","title":{"rendered":"Upskilling"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is Upskilling?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Upskilling is a proactive approach to professional development that involves learning new skills for current and future roles within an organization.<\/p>\n

The goal of upskilling is to minimize skills gaps. A skills gap is the difference between the knowledge and capabilities someone has \u2013 and what they need to perform their job efficiently and effectively.<\/p>\n

Upskilling can be initiated by an employee or by an organization to keep pace with changing job responsibilities and technological advancements. According to a survey by the World Economic Forum<\/a>, 6 out of 10 workers will require additional training to do their current jobs by 2027.<\/p>\n

Why is Upskilling Important?<\/span><\/h2>\n

According to a Gallop poll commissioned by Amazon<\/a>, upskilling is a popular employee benefit. It allows employees to keep pace with technological advancements, evolving business needs, and the competitive labor market.<\/p>\n

Corporate upskilling initiatives can provide employees with training opportunities and staff development programs that will minimize skill gaps and prepare employees for new jobs or roles within the same organization.<\/p>\n

Businesses hope that by investing in their employees’ skills training, they will get a return on investment<\/a> (ROI) through increased productivity, better role mobility, and stronger employee retention rates.<\/p>\n

Upskilling can also play an important role in reducing the cost of talent acquisition<\/a>. When businesses face challenges in recruiting new employees with specific skills, it can set projects back. Optimizing the capabilities of current staff members to meet present and future requirements can often be more cost-effective than finding, hiring, and training new employees<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Upskilling Vs. Reskilling<\/span><\/h2>\n

The terms ‘upskilling’ and ‘reskilling’ are sometimes used interchangeably, but strictly speaking, they each have a different objective.<\/p>\n

Upskilling<\/strong> is about acquiring new skills that are relevant to a present or future role in the same career path.<\/p>\n

In contrast, reskilling<\/strong> is about gaining new skills for a completely different career path<\/a> or a new job in a completely different field.<\/p>\n

How To Upskill Employees<\/span><\/h2>\n

Corporate upskilling initiatives can be carried out formally on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis. They can also be carried out informally on a day-to-day basis.<\/p>\n

Essentially, the process requires identifying an employee’s skills gaps, relevant resources, and opportunities for skill acquisition, giving the employee time to learn the new skill, and gathering information about how they use the new skill in a work-related context.<\/p>\n

In a large organization, this process often includes a formal assessment component that provides managers with data-driven insight into how often an employee takes advantage of internal learning opportunities \u2013 and whether the results meet the organization’s needs.<\/p>\n

Examples of Corporate Upskilling Initiatives<\/span><\/h2>\n

Human resource departments in many of today’s large corporations are including upskilling as an integral part of their strategy for employee engagement, retention, and organizational success.<\/p>\n