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Upskilling: The Future of Securing Your Job

• April 27, 2022

Have you recently been contemplating upskilling in order to get ahead in the workplace?

Experts are saying that this is one of the most important feats the workforce needs to conquer.

Maybe you don’t even really know what upskilling is, and that’s okay!

Upskilling : the process of improving and increasing a worker’s skills, making the worker more effective.

This may sound daunting and unapproachable at first but experts reassure us that anyone can upskill and there are a lot of ways to figure out how we can best upskill. The first step is deciding that you want to learn something new and take the initiative to find out more.

The World Economic Forum states that in order to save post-Covid economy, upskilling is essential. They believe that it could boost the global GDP by over $6 trillion (£4.7 trillion) and create 5.3 million new jobs by 2030.

This is essential since studies have found that 40% of workers believe their job will be obsolete within 5 years, so upskilling is integral to keeping them from having to leave their jobs. This is particularly true because the workforce is changing so quickly so people need to adapt to keep up with the evolving world.

Upskilling can take on a range of different forms, some examples are :

Hard Skills

• Knowing how to use specific software
• Know basic graphic design
• Be skilled in making perfect presentations

Soft Skills

• Becoming an active listener
• Giving constructive feedback
• Developing your communication skills (written/oral)

Mostly just any skill which will aid them to do their job better than they were before and better than their peers.

Consequently, upskilling is different from person to person as it depends on your own role and prior knowledge. This means that there is no universal list of things a person can do to progress their career this way.

Some examples of this could be :

Marketing

Spending more time on social media, creating lists of what is popular (concepts, sounds, themes), learning about the ever changing algorithms and seeing how other people have succeeded in this field.

IT

Learning about the up and coming computer programmes that are likely to be introduced to the workplace and getting an upper hand before they come in. Do any extra courses that may come alongside these programmes.

Teaching

Keeping on top of new research about children’s mental health, hone in your active listening skills to help your students feel listened to, learn conflict resolution skills and learn the ins and outs of new technology introduced in the classroom.

Mostly you should just research what is happening in your field and try to develop your skills around that, stay ahead of the trends whenever possible.

Workplaces can offer these opportunities to an employee but if they are not, employees can find their own means of gaining this knowledge.

Some ways a person can do this is :

• Watch relevant YouTube videos
• Sign up to LinkedIn learning programmes
• Find an online certification

It can be harder for those in lower paying jobs to do this so finding any free resources like YouTube etc could be integral to a person who genuinely needs this help in order to climb the career ladder or to keep their job.

If you are unsure where exactly to start, in most situations two skills will be worthwhile no matter the job role : communication and technological know-how… This is therefore likely going to be a good start and you can then mold your journey to fit your role

Any start is good and shows how dedicated you are to your job/future. This can be the difference in how your boss views you, meaning you could be considered for more opportunities in the future as your boss now knows that you are serious about working for their company.