Upskilling is a well-known term in career development. In a constantly changing world, it is a survival mindset every employee should carry.
Have you ever woken up feeling that the day ahead will be the same as yesterday? Of course, there’s nothing wrong with falling back on a routine you already know by heart. After all, you have built enough skills, knowledge, and experience to afford days when you like going on auto-pilot mode.
However, you might feel that everything around you is changing. After all, that is the nature of work today: a rapid-paced business environment with improving and advancing standards. Pretty soon, the things you built for yourself are now considered basic skills. The tense feeling of knowing that everyone else is pushing forward while you watch from behind the scenes can be alarming. However, there is one clear solution to this: learn something new.
Upskilling to Close Skill Gaps Created by Rapid Rise of Technology
Upskilling involves learning new skills necessary for your career or organization to help you succeed now and in the long term. It allows you to remain competitive and relevant, which translates to your work for your company. In turn, the company will also grow significantly when the employees involved in operations are continuously improving. This situation is a much-needed boost as the rapid rise of technology is creating skill gaps faster than educational establishments, and business training programs can handle.
The future of work is rapidly changing as more and more organizations incorporate advancements like Artificial intelligence, automation, the Internet of Things (IoT), and more. For the people who dedicated and trained most of their early years to learning skills essential to their chosen industry at that time, it might mean that everything they learned in school is now either obsolete or less important to an extent.
Soon, career progression is no longer about the degrees and certificates you can secure, although they still hold high value. It is not about the number of hours you dedicate to your work shift, although it is something that companies want from their employees. Career progression’s primary focus is now adaptability to the ever-changing demands that work requires within that time frame and for the next time.
What is the Problem with Upskilling?
The only visible problem with career upskilling is it depends on a person’s willingness to be a better asset for their current employer. Regarding accessibility, you can already find plenty of learning opportunities on the widely accessible internet. Here are a few of those options:
- Virtual courses – You can find one in every industry, with LinkedIn Learning, Udemy, Udacity, Coursera, Skillshare, and edX among the top options for people who want to upskill. After completing a course, you will receive a certificate to verify your accomplishment.
- Educational YouTube channels – YouTube is an excellent source of educational content in nearly every aspect of life, including career development. IT and software development are among the most popular topics watched today.
- Industry-related digital conferences and seminars – These training programs are given by leading corporations in their respective industries, arming younger professionals with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in the advancing world.
- Online classes – Universities are helping working employees dedicate time to learning as they offer online undergrad and master’s degree courses. Some academic institutions even provide them for free.
- Mentorship and coaching programs – There are many skills people cannot get from academic efforts. Mentorship and coaching offer personalized approaches to mastering soft skills and staying up-to-date with the latest demands for career development.
With so many options to help you learn something new and relevant to your career, it might feel like digital upskilling is within reach. However, there lies another problem. With so many options, it might feel easy to get distracted. An article by collaborative learning platform NovoEd shows that online course completion rates are low, hovering around 13%. What does this mean? People know that upskilling is essential for career development. Still, they often lose motivation to finish their chosen programs for various reasons like the following:
What are the Benefits of Upskilling?
Employers and business leaders must understand the importance of motivating employees to learn or upskill. As a result, companies themselves might provide the tools and resources to help employees in the journey by investing in training and development programs. When businesses take care of employees, they benefit. Those initiatives will increase motivation to learn, especially when organizations take away the financial limitations and research struggles that employees go through when trying to find educational materials and programs tailor-fit for their work. By doing this, companies are solving the skill gaps caused by their operational advancements by preparing employees specifically for those adjustments.
Upskilling Made Easier in iSupport Worldwide
People are always on the path of progress, no matter how deep they are in their respective careers and personal development. iSupport Worldwide recognizes the importance of upskilling not only for employees but also for its clients. As a result, the dedicates resources, materials, and support to the highly talented For iSupport, its people are not just valuable assets but also well-valued investments, all with the potential to become leaders, pioneers, and visionaries of their respective fields.
If you feel motivated to take your career further and higher, don’t hesitate to apply with us! Our people are valuable assets and well-valued investments, all with the potential to become leaders, pioneers, and visionaries in their respective fields.