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Essential power skills for your team in 2024
December 4, 2024
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Technologies that help companies to automate tasks and optimize processes, such as artificial intelligence, are becoming increasingly important in the modern business world. Despite this, the job market is facing a shortage of professionals trained in these key emerging disciplines. This is a common problem when it comes to adapting to new technologies, posing a significant challenge for companies that need to stay ahead in a competitive environment.
In short, companies run the risk of having a big professional deficit when they attempt to fill positions that require the latest skills. This in turn leads to a stark choice – organizations both large and small either need to update their workforces through training, or face becoming obsolete. And it’s precisely for this reason that upskilling and reskilling are so important.
Constant changes in the job market, driven by digitalization and automation, are challenging companies to rethink how their employees learn and grow. Against this backdrop, the concepts of reskilling and upskilling emerge as fundamental cornerstones of modern corporate training, helping organizations to adapt to change quickly and successfully.
Reskilling refers to the retraining of employees, a process that allows them to acquire new skills to perform different roles within the same organization. Upskilling, on the other hand, focuses on enhancing existing abilities, preparing professionals for future challenges that may arise in their current positions.
Both are essential strategies for effective organizational adaptation in times of rapid change. Whilst reskilling prepares employees for new roles, upskilling strengthens innovation and resilience, ensuring that companies remain competitive.
Currently, companies are looking for workers who possess very different skills from those needed in previous years. This is where retraining proves its worth, because it allows organizations to hold onto existing employees – who may have many desirable qualities – instead of looking for completely new ones to fill those gaps. Many traditional roles are disappearing while new ones emerge, requiring a set of constantly evolving technical and behavioral skills. In order to adapt, companies must provide agile and effective continuous learning solutions.
Reskilling is vital for companies because as technology and automation combine and evolve, these skills gaps will continue to increase. On the other hand, prioritizing upskilling is vital if we want to gain a competitive advantage in the market. Through this strategy, we can respond to the need for leadership tools and ensure the longevity of specific careers.
Investing in reskilling and upskilling programs helps companies better retain talent, boost productivity, and strengthen their organizational culture. More than just a knee-jerk response to challenges, these strategies give companies a great opportunity to position themselves as truly innovative employers.
In a McKinsey survey, 53% of leaders indicated that skills development was the best way to close skills gaps. Upskilling and reskilling both foster a culture of learning in companies, and help to distinguish them from the competition. They do this by transforming a workforce into a team of agile, diverse and creative agents who constantly look to acquire and perfect new skills. Let’s explore some of the key benefits for companies and employees:
Investing in reskilling and upskilling represents a valuable opportunity for employees, and goes far beyond simply acquiring new skills. It’s a process that promotes both personal and professional growth, ensuring better alignment with market demands and helping individuals to stand out in their roles. Some of the main benefits for employees include:
In a constantly evolving job market, skilled professionals are the most highly valued. Participation in reskilling and upskilling programs ensures that employees remain up to date with market demands, boosting their chances of career advancement or finding new opportunities if necessary.
By mastering new skills or refining existing ones, professionals gain increased confidence in their abilities. This self-assurance translates into improved daily performance, reducing feelings of insecurity when confronting new challenges or technologies.
During times of constant change, adaptability is key. Reskilling allows employees to reinvent themselves professionally, while upskilling prepares them for a range of new responsibilities, fostering resilience during periods of transition or uncertainty.
Employees who participate in training programs often feel more valued by their companies, as these initiatives demonstrate an organization’s commitment to individual development. This level of recognition helps to boost engagement and motivation in the workplace.
By picking up new knowledge, professionals get the chance to expand their perspective on work and potentially take on more strategic or innovative roles within their organization. This paves the way for a more dynamic career, enriched with challenging experiences.
Continuous development not only enhances employees’ technical skills but also improves their relationship with themselves and their work environment. Employees who can clearly see their professional growth taking place tend to be more satisfied, contributing to a healthier organizational atmosphere.
Effective reskilling and upskilling programs create a positive cycle of learning, growth and recognition, generating a positive impact on personal fulfillment and collective performance. This amounts to an investment in both an employee’s professional future and overall well-being.
Developing those skills that align with market demands is essential to ensure the competitive strength of a workforce. From technical competencies to the most sought-after soft skills, reskilling and upskilling programs should fully equip professionals to meet both current and future challenges.
The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2023 illustrates a clear evolution in the pattern of predictions about which skills will be most in demand in the future. When the report was first published in 2016, the companies surveyed projected that 35% of job skills would be affected over the following 5 years. Since then, that figure has risen to 44%, anticipating that the adoption of new technologies will stimulate the evolution of job skills, as professionals adjust to the changes these technologies will bring.
Here are some of those skills that will be most important in the future:
This is closely related to critical thinking. Employees with initiative and creativity will not simply limit themselves to following instructions, but actually create their own opportunities. Companies are increasingly looking for professionals with these qualities – a creative capacity, originality and initiative – who can adapt easily to a changing environment and offer better insights into what clients need.
Technical skills are just as important as soft skills, and chief among them is the use of technology, which is essential today. Companies are increasingly demanding more candidates who are prepared to face the challenges that changing technology has imposed.
For this reason, companies today classify AI and Big Data as priorities within their training strategies, alongside other skills such as design and user experience. Developing these skills will continue to assume a higher priority as technology evolves.
Although one person can influence another without holding a leadership position, a leader cannot manage or lead a team without the ability to influence others. Influential leadership is essential for working with people’s ideas and helping align them with the company’s strategies. A professional with these skills can get their team to adopt business values, mission, and culture.
Emotional intelligence is one of the communication skills that a good leader should master to build high-performance teams and work environments. The world of today requires professionals who, in addition to possessing technical knowledge, must have empathy and adaptability and be able to understand their team.
This skill includes self-control, a goal-oriented emotional approach, assertive communication, and active listening. And it is not surprising that this is a skill in high demand by most companies. According to a Capgemini study, organizations that have employees with high emotional intelligence skills achieve 20% higher profits.
This is another skill that has moved to the forefront in companies due to the consequences of the pandemic. Stress management involves the ability to deal with tensions effectively in both the work and personal spheres. This requires identifying stress triggers, as well as applying strategies to manage and minimize their influence. Developing stress management helps with job satisfaction, wellbeing, and fostering a positive work environment.
Want to know the complete list of essential skills for 2024? Download our whitepaper Essential power skills for your team in 2024, and discover what they are, as well as how to integrate them into your L&D strategy.
With a view to filling new and emerging job positions, as well as expand the skillsets of employees towards these roles, we outline the steps you should follow if you want to implement a successful reskilling and upskilling program:
To carry out a successful upskilling and reskilling strategy within your company, it’s necessary to first evaluate and prioritize the skills that are most urgently needed amongst your employees.These skills must adapt to the new work environment to achieve immediate objectives. But it’s necessary to think in advance, update the relearning process, and include other skills for long-term purposes while the company reaches short-term goals.
Just as it is necessary to map the gaps in existing skills within the company, it is also required to identify the skills or previous knowledge your team already has. The organization’s skills must be compiled in a database, allowing you to distinguish employees who can more easily transition to other roles and have more control of their previous knowledge.
In order to provide an effective learning experience, you’ll need to choose a platform that not only offers courses in the most in-demand skills, but can also be constantly updated to reflect the latest trends and developments in the job market. Opt for a comprehensive platform that covers everything from technical competencies to soft skills. You should also ensure that it offers quality courses, featuring interactive elements such as videos, simulations, practical activities and assessments. Crucially, it should also offer enough flexibility so that employees can access content anytime, anywhere.
Often, the prospect of having to train or even learn a new set of skills can be overwhelming for some people. To help employees through this, it’s helpful to maintain active communication so that they understand how vital continuous learning is for the survival of the company, as well as for their own professional growth.
Finally, remember that organizations should always collect and analyze employee progress data, to ensure that they stay on top of the program’s success, and can restructure any areas that need attention.
Reskilling and upskilling give employees the opportunity to acquire new skills, knowledge and competencies, as well as expand their understanding, so they can participate fully in the growth and success of the organization. A great example of this is the transformation of learning at Telefónica, the leading Spanish company in telecommunications infrastructure.
Through the largest reskilling plan in Spain, the company has managed to get 93% of its employees to carry out some form of training activity. Additionally, by offering more than 1,185 courses on a whole variety of topics, it has transformed its learning model to offer more complete training. Want to learn more about this success story? Here we tell you the full story.
CASE STUDY
How Telefónica trained its employees in new skills with a large-scale reskilling plan
Constant technological evolution and changes in the job market make reskilling and upskilling indispensable for companies who want to remain competitive and innovative. In generally, the future points to a radical transformation of these processes, driven by the impact of artificial intelligence (AI), automation and new learning methodologies.
Artificial intelligence and automation are already key tools in the corporate landscape, reshaping industries and redefining professional roles. Their impact on reskilling and upskilling is profound, presenting companies with both new opportunities and challenges:
AI enables the real-time mapping of critical skills by matching market demands with internal competencies. Predictive analytics tools can help to identify vulnerable areas before they have a negative impact on organizational performance.
AI-based solutions create tailored learning pathways to meet individual needs. By analyzing employee performance and preferences, algorithms can deliver customized content, optimizing time spent on the reskilling and upskilling process and enhancing its effectiveness.
Chatbots and virtual assistants can answer questions, provide guidance, and even handle simple administrative tasks related to training, freeing managers from repetitive responsibilities.
When combined with AI, automation can help to develop hyperrealistic simulation environments, giving employees the chance to practice technical and behavioral skills in a controlled, risk-free setting.
As automation gradually replaces repetitive tasks, reskilling will become essential to prepare employees for new roles that require critical thinking, creativity and digital skills.
Beyond changes in technology, the way people learn is also rapidly evolving. Innovative methodologies, such as the following, are making learning more efficient, accessible and engaging:
Microlearning is a small, easily digestible pieces of content are gaining popularity as a learning method. Ideal for employees with busy schedules, these micro courses promote a high degree of knowledge retention and are easily accessible on mobile devices.
Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are revolutionizing training. Employees can now virtually experience real-world scenarios, such as sales or safety training, enjoying hands-on learning in a safe environment.
Platforms that encourage knowledge sharing between employees are on the rise in terms of popularity. Internal forums, corporate social networks, and tools like isEazy Engage allow professionals to learn from each other, fostering a culture of continuous learning.
Gamification continues to be a strong trend, especially in corporate training. Systems featuring rewards, challenges and leaderboards make learning more engaging, and help to consolidate skills in a fun way.
This methodology focuses on integrating learning into the employee’s daily routine, providing quick, accessible content exactly when it’s needed. An ideal approach for practical training and real-time problem-solving.
Thanks to data analysis and machine learning, learning can now be fully customized, ensuring that each employee receives exactly the content they need to advance their careers and meet organizational demands.
isEazy provides a suite of innovative tools to make corporate learning more efficient and interactive, and keep it aligned with current market demands. Thanks to solutions such as isEazy Author, isEazy LMS and isEazy Skills, companies can create high-impact content, manage training in a more integrated way, and offer employees a wide catalog of essential skills to prepare them for the future.
All of our tools combine innovation, simplicity and powerful results, creating a complete ecosystem to transform corporate learning.
Discover how isEazy can revolutionize your training programs. Explore our solutions and get ready to take your team to the next level!
Upskilling involves enhancing employees’ existing skills to prepare them for future challenges within their current roles. Reskilling, on the other hand, teaches new skills to employees so they can assume different roles within their company. Both strategies are essential for organizations looking to adapt to market changes and stay competitive.
These strategies help companies to retain talent, reduce recruitment and onboarding costs and boost productivity. Additionally, they promote greater organizational flexibility, readying employees to handle sudden technological and market changes, which strengthens business competitiveness.
isEazy provides innovative tools that help make corporate learning more efficient and keep it in line with current market demands. Thanks to features like interactive content, integrated training management, and wide-ranging course catalogs that focus on soft skills and technical competencies, isEazy transforms learning into a practical, high-impact experience.
Due to the constant advancement of technology and the automation of familiar processes, many traditional roles are disappearing while new ones emerge. Upskilling and reskilling help to ensure that employees develop the skills they need to handle these challenges, increasing their employability and promoting greater organizational resilience during times of transformation.
If you want to implement an effective skills development program, having the right tools and resources is essential. At isEazy Skills, we offer a comprehensive catalog of courses in digital skills and soft skills, designed to meet your company’s specific needs and drive team success. Request a free trial and discover how our training can make a difference.
Investing in upskilling not only transforms your employees into more skilled professionals but also positions your company as a leader in innovation and adaptability.
Upskilling enables employees to become more valuable and versatile professionals. This translates into opportunities to take on new roles, greater responsibilities, and increased recognition within the company. It also enhances their confidence and engagement, as they feel their employer is investing in their personal and professional growth.
Upskilling has a profound impact on both individuals and organizations. For employees, it’s an opportunity to advance professionally, strengthen their profiles, and adapt to technological changes. For companies, upskilling offers benefits such as:
Upskilling, also known as advanced skill development, involves training employees to refine their existing competencies or acquire new, relevant skills for their roles. This process not only enhances team productivity but also keeps employees competitive in an ever-evolving job market. In a context where digitalization and technological advancements are reshaping market demands, investing in upskilling is a crucial strategy to close the digital talent gap and prepare organizations for future challenges.
Creating an advanced skills training program requires a strategic approach:
Today’s job market is constantly changing due to digitalization and technology. This landscape demands that companies and employees stay up to date with specific skills that enable them to adapt quickly. By investing in upskilling, organizations not only close the digital talent gap but also prepare their teams for future challenges, ensuring their relevance and long-term success.
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