Upskilling: What is it and How can it Benefit Me?
It is one of those words that is often used in corporate circles as a “buzz phrase” by people trying to sound important but it just refers to the process of training someone to the required level and closing the skills gap that they have in a particular area.
Skills gaps occur when there are rapid changes in the types of technology being used in businesses and there are huge skills gaps that need to be plugged in the UK right now. It has been estimated that over half of the population need to update their skills to take advantage of new technology and around a quarter of all workers lack even the most basic of digital skills.
This is a particular issue in the UK at the moment, where many EU citizens have left and have taken their expertise back to mainland Europe with them. This means there is a lower availability of these skills now within the general workforce.
Upskilling can help people to reach proficiency in areas that they need to work on to progress to the next tier at their company. There are many different ways to approach upskilling an employee to help them to reach their full potential and we have outlined some possibilities below.
Identifying a Skills Gap
Often, Upskilling results from the management of the organisation identifying a skills gap that they need to fill. This can either be at an individual level with a single employee or at a more organisational level, where there is a noticeable lack of a particular skill that is required.
Individual Skills Gaps
Where the skills gap has been identified in an individual, but their work has otherwise been to a high standard, the employer may offer the individual the chance to receive training in the area that they haven’t developed the requisite skills in yet.
This is a respectful way to solve the problem for both the employee, who may be struggling with self-doubt over the area they are struggling with, and the employer. The employer comes across as being caring and offering a solution to the difficulties of their employee and the employee gains a solution to their problem without any further difficulty.
Organisational Skills Gaps
Where the skills gap has been identified at an organisational level, it is possible to employ an external training organisation to manage the upskilling process across the organisation. This allows for various different sessions which are mandatory to attend, and which occur during the course of the normal working day.
Asking an external company to take on the training means that you will have access to a level of proficiency and expertise that didn’t exist within the company and the external company will be able to bring the overall proficiency levels within the company up dramatically, though there are some employees who will continue to struggle and who may need further attention and assistance in order to make the same grade as some of their colleagues.
Employee Skill Sharing
There will usually be a small cohort of your employees who will be extremely proficient at the process or activity that some of the other staff members are lacking in. Consider asking them to share their skills and expertise in either a formal or informal way with their colleagues.
Incentivise them to spend some of their time being available as mentors for those who need a little extra help. Perhaps even consider asking them to present their own optional workshop for those who feel that they could benefit from further training.
Showing the proficient employees that their time doing this is valued would provide a boost to their morale. Consider giving them some kind of bonus for undertaking this work, whether financial or in-kind and ensure that they don’t get any trouble from their line manager for being behind in their usual work as they may have to drop some to fulfil your request.
How can Upskilling Benefit Employees?
Whether singled out for individual upskilling or undertaking mandatory training with the rest of the company, remember that your company is spending money to help you to improve the range of work activities that you are able to do. As well as helping you to do well at their own company, by helping you to upskill, they are effectively boosting your value, should you choose to go and join another company.
If they are willing to do this for you on an individual level, take it as a sign that they believe you have a future at the company. They wouldn’t have spent the resources on you if they didn’t believe that you would continue to work with them for some time to come. That reassurance over job security is something that many people are looking for at the moment, with something like 51% of people in a recent poll stating job security was the most important factor for them.
Boosting Career Progression
If your bosses are helping to fill particular individual skills gaps that you have, it may be that they are looking at the possibility of your career progression within the company. They may have looked at your performance and resume when they were debating succession planning and thought you would be perfect for a particular role, if you could just do this one extra thing.
Whether your career progression route is with the current company or another, upskilling is always a positive thing. You should never be offended at being offered the chance to be included in it as it always enhances your chances of moving on to a better role in the future. It should also go without saying that you should always accept the opportunity offered and do everything you can to absorb the information that you are given during the course.
Think of upskilling as a key to unlocking future success and if you are ever asking for career progression and are told you lack a particular skill, feel free to ask for upskilling and training so you can close that skills gap.
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