Upskilling 2.0
The breakneck pace of technological growth and transformation is taking businesses and societies by a storm. By the time students finish college and enter the corporate world, the skills acquired and tools practiced in academics, could simply become outdated or redundant at work. Business schools and engineering colleges are under unrelenting pressure to keep evolving or even overhauling their curricula as per the needs of the jobs market. And quite rightly so!
While fast-changing technology is an exciting prospect for some, others find the fear of lagging behind and losing out rather unnerving. As technologies like Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Internet of Things begin to take greater effect at workplaces, employees must be able to understand and manage them to stay relevant and competitive.
This doesn’t mean the onus lies entirely on the employees. Employers across the board are generously investing to train their talent in advanced technologies, and offering innumerable opportunities to learn on the job, through certified courses, vestibule sessions, and tech-events. And yet, much of this upskilling is employee-driven and provides ample flexibility between work and learning. The goal is to keep nurturing a talent pool that isn’t just adept at using new devices or software but is also able to think and operate effectively in a rapidly changing technological environment.
While fast-changing technology is an exciting prospect for some, others find the fear of lagging behind and losing out rather unnerving. As technologies like Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Internet of Things begin to take greater effect at workplaces, employees must be able to understand and manage them to stay relevant and competitive.
This doesn’t mean the onus lies entirely on the employees. Employers across the board are generously investing to train their talent in advanced technologies, and offering innumerable opportunities to learn on the job, through certified courses, vestibule sessions, and tech-events. And yet, much of this upskilling is employee-driven and provides ample flexibility between work and learning. The goal is to keep nurturing a talent pool that isn’t just adept at using new devices or software but is also able to think and operate effectively in a rapidly changing technological environment.
Which Skills Matter?
According to World Economic Forum, the rate of emergence of new professions will rise to 13.5% by 2025. This means many highly coveted job profiles of today could be rendered outdated and replaced by those completely unheard of. Pretty much like nobody had heard of job profiles like User Experience Managers or Cloud Computing Specialists just 10 years back. The mismatch between skills and job requirements is expected to create challenges for both, professionals as well as employers.
While upskilling could significantly help deal with these challenges, the journey has to be well planned. Rather than going after anything and everything, employees have to anticipate the changes in the industry and zero in on the skills that will be most in demand. They have to start by mapping out their current role and the value they bring to the table. Subsequently, keeping an eye out on publications by industry bodies, and following industry news, journals and business leaders can give useful insights about evolving roles.
Once the vision is clear and a plan is in place, employees need to find out the right opportunities to equip themselves with the required skills for the future. The most convenient and highly accessible medium of upskilling in this day and age is obviously the digital channel.
Once the vision is clear and a plan is in place, employees need to find out the right opportunities to equip themselves with the required skills for the future. The most convenient and highly accessible medium of upskilling in this day and age is obviously the digital channel.
Digitizing the Upskilling Experience
The recent pandemic has completely transformed the way we work and created new norms around remote work or hybrid work. This has only been possible due to the recent advancements in communications and digital technology.
Besides transforming working styles, digitization has also had a significant impact on employees’ training and development. A function that earlier used to consume many days and even weeks, can now be effectively executed through digital platforms. Online trainings and certifications, virtual conferences, and seminars, video lectures, in-house training material are some ways in which employees can learn while being on the job.
But fundamentally, digitizing the upskilling experience requires the creation of a digital culture in the organization where employees are willing to learn and grow with technology. Since future jobs will require unforeseeable skills and abilities, building training and development facilities around dynamic technology will be in the best interest of organizations as well as employees.
Organizations incorporating latest and innovative technologies in their business processes, have to provide their employees with maximum possible support to learn and thrive. This could include the use of technologies like augmented reality (AR) and machine learning (ML) among other, to offer on-the-job training. Likewise, for the increasingly crucial cybersecurity, data analytics and chatbots, skills can only be inculcated through practical hands-on training.
Digitization of corporate upskilling is both a necessity as well as an opportunity. To meet the challenges of tomorrow and make the most of fresh opportunities together, employers must acknowledge the need to take employees along on the long, winding journey of digital transformation.
Besides transforming working styles, digitization has also had a significant impact on employees’ training and development. A function that earlier used to consume many days and even weeks, can now be effectively executed through digital platforms. Online trainings and certifications, virtual conferences, and seminars, video lectures, in-house training material are some ways in which employees can learn while being on the job.
But fundamentally, digitizing the upskilling experience requires the creation of a digital culture in the organization where employees are willing to learn and grow with technology. Since future jobs will require unforeseeable skills and abilities, building training and development facilities around dynamic technology will be in the best interest of organizations as well as employees.
Organizations incorporating latest and innovative technologies in their business processes, have to provide their employees with maximum possible support to learn and thrive. This could include the use of technologies like augmented reality (AR) and machine learning (ML) among other, to offer on-the-job training. Likewise, for the increasingly crucial cybersecurity, data analytics and chatbots, skills can only be inculcated through practical hands-on training.
Digitization of corporate upskilling is both a necessity as well as an opportunity. To meet the challenges of tomorrow and make the most of fresh opportunities together, employers must acknowledge the need to take employees along on the long, winding journey of digital transformation.