Reskilling: A Digital and Professional Transformation

A time of unprecedented transformation

 

In order to remain competitive, businesses across industries have been digitising their offerings – like digitalising their internal processes as well as their external buying options for customers. Consequently, the global shift to digital, in addition to the new normal brought on by the pandemic, has expedited the need for companies and people alike to pay attention to emerging skills as well as reskill altogether.

 

Covid-19 is pushing companies to:

 

• Scale remote work by 83%
• Accelerate digitalisation by 84%
• Accelerate automation by 50%

 

What is reskilling?

 

Reskilling involves learning new skills to be able to do a different job. When companies reskill their employees, they’re saving the money and resources that would be spent hiring and onboarding a new person. In fact, reskilling frees up your resources to help your existing employees get up to speed for their next role within the company. Thus, reskilling reduces the cost of filling new roles, while keeping your workforce’s skillset current and up to speed.

 

Upskilling, on the other hand, involves learning new skills while remaining in the same job, or teaching workers new skills. Indeed, upskilling is useful for helping employees become more skilled and relevant at their current position, while reskilling is focused on making employees available for other jobs within the organisation.

 

Reskilling for digital transformation

Many companies already have noticeable skill gaps which will continue to develop between now and the end of the decade. According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report, half of us will need reskilling by 2025, while 40% of current workers’ core skills are expected to change in the next 5 years.

 

Also included in the report:

 

• 50% of all employees will need reskilling by 2025 due to the increased adoption of technology.
• Self-management skills are newly emerging this year with an emphasis on active learning, resilience, stress management, and flexibility.
• Critical thinking and problem-solving top the list of skills that will grow in prominence over the next 5 years.
• 1 in 4 adults report a mismatch in skills they have and the skills they need.

However, the very technological disruption that is transforming jobs and the skills necessary to do them can also provide the key to creating them – and simultaneously help us learn new skills.

 

The top 10 skills of 2025

1. Analytical thinking and innovation

2. Active learning and learning strategies

3. Complex problem-solving

4. Critical thinking and analysis

5. Creativity, originality and initiative

6. Leadership and social influence

7. Technology use, monitoring and control

8. Technology design and programming

9. Resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility

10. Reasoning, problem-solving and ideation

 

The reskilling revolution

In order to stand out from the rest of the competition, companies need to differentiate themselves and make their value proposition more attractive than others. To do so, having a sharp, diverse and creative workforce that is continuously learning, adjusting, acquiring and perfecting new skills is absolutely essential.

However, in order to truly garner the benefits of reskilling programmes, organisations must also provide their employees with personalised recommendations and actionable steps to easily digest and learn the skills they need.

 

Reskilling is an ongoing practice

If employees aren’t stimulated and encouraged to continually seek out opportunities to learn and grow, the company as a whole won’t do so, either. In sum, with the right tools, reskilling and upskilling can be an enjoyable and rewarding undertaking – principally if the experience is associated with actionable tasks and projects within the organisation, and tied in with personalised content.