What Your Employee Upskilling Plan Should Include And Why It Matters

Upskilling gives employees more growth opportunities, leading to higher retention and profitability

By Hannah Lloret, Cyberabacker

An alarming statistic in the World Economic Forum’s 2020 Future of Jobs report predicts that increased automation and the Covid-19 pandemic may displace 85 million workers by 2025. The report estimates the creation of 97 million new roles, but warns that workers will not have the skills to take advantage of them.

A national survey indicates that 87 percent of today’s US workforce recognizes that new skills are essential for employees to continue developing their professional careers and avoid feeling left behind by advancements in the workplace. In this article, I will discuss how an effective upskilling program benefits you, as an employer, as well as how you can get started building such a program.

What Is an Upskilling Program?

Upskilling is a process that helps your employees learn new skills, improve their current ones, and become more efficient in what they do. It can be done through training or by collaborating with a mentor at your company. Ultimately, it is about helping your employees grow as professionals so they can contribute more to your business and make meaningful contributions to their teams.

It should be noted, however, that upskilling is not the same as reskilling. Reskilling enables an employee to learn the required skills for an entirely new position, while upskilling gives an employee the skills to move from novice to expert in his or her current role.

Why Companies Invest in Employee Upskilling

When you invest in a well-designed upskilling program, you will see an increase in employee engagement, employee productivity, and employee retention. When you give employees the opportunity to master new skills, meet professional goals, and advance internally, their satisfaction rises. Satisfied employees become engaged in the workplace. They commit to the work they do and make sure that it is successful. Even better, they come to work motivated and want the best for themselves and for your business.

Employee engagement naturally leads to higher productivity and retention. If your employee feels they are just another cog in a machine, what reason do they have to go above and beyond for your business? Conversely, if people enjoy coming to work every day and feel they are part of something bigger than themselves, they perform better and stay longer. All of this translates into higher revenue and reduced recruitment costs for you as an employer.

How to Build a Successful Upskilling Program

The most important thing to remember is to design your upskilling program in a way that makes employees excited to participate. Start by engaging with employees to find out what they want out of their careers, what skills they need in order to achieve those goals, and how they would like to learn these new skills. The answers to these questions can help you uncover topics of interest, design courses, and establish an authentic learning culture.

Without employee buy-in, your program will be met with resistance. With this in mind, ensure your upskilling program allows employees to grow and own their career development. Rather than feeling micro-managed, a successful program makes employees feel empowered by the process of learning new skills.

Motivate your employees by accompanying your upskilling program with a detailed roadmap. Make sure to outline the steps they will need to accomplish as they grow in their roles and advance. Include a starting place, the objectives along the route to the finish line, and a timeline to help them set their pace and stay on track.

As you consider the specifics of your upskilling program, remember to provide clear objectives for each training session. Your employees should always know what they are expected to learn and how it will benefit them. Be sure that the content you include is up-to-date and relevant to your workplace.

Effective upskilling helps your employees develop the skills they need to reach their full potential while simultaneously impacting your company’s bottom line by boosting engagement, productivity, and retention for the better. An employee upskilling program does not have to be complicated or expensive, but it does need to be tailored specifically for your organization, offer a clear roadmap to success, and motivate your employees to keep learning.