As the benefits of enrolling employees in a technology upskilling program become clearer, thousands of organizations worldwide are ensuring that professional training is a core part of their mission.
To learn more about the benefits of this type of training and how you can implement it, read on for the essential guide to upskilling in 2020.
What is upskilling?
For many companies around the world, finding qualified individuals to fill open positions is a significant challenge.
In many cases, these positions are related to technological advancements and require advanced skills.
Upskilling is the process of teaching your employees new skills (or enhancing their current ones).
This focus on continuous learning aids employees in developing new capabilities and reducing skill gaps on the team.
Keep in mind that the goal of upskilling is to improve employees’ skill sets, and not merely to add to them for the sake of it.
Why is upskilling important?
In order to have an effective organization, your workforce must be made up of individuals with strong technical and business skills.
Upskilling is one of the best ways to ensure that your organization has these people.
Over time, as you continue to integrate upskilling into your organization, you can be sure that your employees’ abilities won’t become antiquated as the industry continues to transform.
Additionally, upskilling requires a lot less time and resources than it takes to recruit, hire, and train a new worker.
Plus, it is easier and more effective than opting to address problems in the workplace individually. You can be sure that committing to upskilling your workforce will bring about a significant return on investment.
What are the benefits of upskilling?
There is no denying that upskilling brings a plethora of benefits to your organization and workforce.
In addition to improving your bottom line, upskilling also aids you in creating a more well-rounded and capable workforce.
This, in turn, increases your organization’s effectiveness and creates a company culture that prioritizes learning and enrichment.
Employees want to work in a place that continues to challenge them and invests in their knowledge.
By providing your workers with training and development opportunities, you empower them to see their path to career advancement and demonstrate that you are invested in their work.
Employees who understand how their daily activities are linked to something bigger are more likely to find purpose in their role and have a positive outlook about the company.
You must strive to make your employees feel a sense of purpose, as this will boost your retention rate.
After all, no one wants to work in a company that shows no commitment to their professional growth, and employees know that they need continuous training to stay relevant.
Without incorporating upskilling into your company’s framework, you are putting yourself at risk of losing top employees to your competitors.
Upskilling also ensures that your workers are strong brand advocates.
Employees who are happy in their position are more inclined to recommend your business to their network, which dramatically increases your potential market for customers and future talent.
Moreover, happy workers who find meaning in their job will produce better work, something that will help to keep your clients happy.
It also translates to their productivity, ensuring that company time and money aren’t wasted.
How can I upskill my team?
There are several different ways that you can implement upskilling in your company.
They include mentoring and shadowing, virtual training sessions, microlearning, and in-person sessions.
- Mentoring and Shadowing: Employees within your firm can teach each other about their roles, skill sets, and other relevant knowledge.
- Virtual Training Sessions: This enables employees to learn new skills in their own time and space. Virtual training sessions range from individual sessions to multi-day courses and longer classes.
- Microlearning: Focused on a single topic, microlearning involves a couple of short activities that enhance employees’ understanding.
- In-Person Sessions: Invite an expert from outside the organization to share their knowledge during a lunchtime session.
Depending on your objectives, you may want to mix and match a variety of these upskilling methods.
As not everybody learns in the same way, this will help ensure that all employees stay engaged and benefit from the learning opportunities.
Can I customize the training?
When you opt to work with a professional training company, you have the option of choosing between enrolling your employees in their pre-designed courses or working with them to create customized training solutions to meet your unique training needs.
In many cases, you will find that they already offer courses that address your training needs.
For example, many employers are looking to enroll their employees in a DevOps training with Web Age, as they know that DevOps is crucial for increased agility, stability, and competitive advantage.
In this training, students learn all the necessary principles ranging from continuous development and deployment to IT service agility.
Additionally, the training ensures that individuals have the requisite skills to utilize DevOps tools in a professional setting.
Other popular training courses include AWS training, Agile training, JavaScript technologies, Business Process Management (BPM), and programming languages such as Java, COBOL, and Python.
However, if you require more specific training, you can work with experts to design a custom education program.
This comprehensive approach to upskilling is particularly crucial if you want to educate an entire team or the whole office.
Generally, the process of creating a customized program is straightforward.
First, you discuss your needs with the company, including the jobs that require training, the target outcome, and the desired training.
Then they will take that information and create a rough draft of the program that includes a course map, outlines, and options for collaboration.
With your feedback, they will continue to refine the program, ensuring that it aligns with your firm’s goals and needs.
Finally, when you are satisfied with the details, you will be able to roll it out across the organization.
Investing in upskilling is the best decision you can make for your organization.
Has your organization started implementing upskilling?
Or is it something you are considering doing soon?
What do you think are the most important aspects of this type of employee development?
Let us know your thoughts and any relevant insights in the comments below!
