Upskilling is a broader workplace trend that had started even before the Pandemic. With the rapid growth of technologies and the consequential growth of various industries, qualified workers become scarce in supply. Due to this, companies train their current employees and help them develop skills that are required to meet the evolution of their jobs. This aids employees to get an earlier promotion to jobs that require more skills. In February 2020, the World Economic Forum predicted that 54% of all employees would require upskilling by 2022. In the past, acquiring a new talent sufficed for companies to fill a skill gap.

However, that is hardly feasible today due to the lack of skills in the market, according to Jason Oliver (VP, AT&T Operations in Dallas). AT&T employs around 250,000 workers and spends more than $200 million a year on employee training. Moreover, the expenses for recruitment are enormous compared to upskilling, according to Carrie Duarte from PwC, who has decided to re-train all of their 50,000 employees in the US.

As seen from the above examples, organizations see it essential to invest in the upskilling of their employees rather than recruiting new ones. At PwC, there are 3 levels of training – Digital Hub for employees, Digital Academy for roughly 15% of employees annually, and the Digital Accelerator for 5% of employees. Upskilling programs are an opportunity for employees to address and rectify numerous skill gaps from leadership abilities to data analysis. In the coming, just about every organization will be looking for employees who are knowledgeable in robotic process automation, materials science, or even simulations with machine learning that can predict outcomes and streamline processes.

What is Skills Gap?

A 2019 research by West Monroe Partners and the Human Capital Media Research and Advisory Group has shown that almost 56% of HR professionals agree that the skills gap in their organization varies from moderate to severe. Furthermore, 63% of those organizations have not been equipped with managers who possess upskilling resources.

Data entry is becoming increasingly automated. The same workers, as a result, have time now to analyze the data. Nevertheless, that requires an entirely different skill set. This is how a Skills Gap is created. Therefore, when a company installs a new CRM software, the company must train its employees for them to be able to work with them. This skills training is not necessarily just about the expertise, but also about thinking differently and making different decisions. AT&T implemented an internal website similar to LinkedIn, to keep track of its talent pool. Employees display their certificates and skill training completed and Line Managers scan the website for the skills the company may be seeking.

Upskilling also has a major secondary benefit as well, apart from filling talent deficiencies. Employee Upskilling programs drive Employee Retention. This is also a direct result of the availability of jobs but a lack of employable talent. It makes business sense to continue employing valuable talent rather than employing unknown candidates. In addition, employees become loyal and stay on if you can provide them with a career path.