Upskilling the current workforce is vital because:
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- The average skill only lasts around 5 years in the current workforce.
- Organizations that don’t upskill their employees may not be able to attract and retain talent long term.
- An organization’s bottom line could likely suffer if it doesn’t upskill its employees.
For more details and insight, read “Why You Should Upskill Your Employees Right Now.” And review the four signs that your own organization is ready to upskill its workforce, which are detailed below.
1. Your Organization Has Adopted or Will Adopt a Culture of Learning
According to Oracle, a “learning culture” is defined as “a set of organizational values, conventions, processes, and practices that encourage individuals—and the organization as a whole—to increase knowledge, competence, and performance.”
If you want your existing staff members to remain upskilled, they will need to be a part of a learning culture, which should encourage and endorse continually learning new skills. Adopting a culture of learning will ensure that your organization is ready and willing to upskill its employees.
For more information, read “How to Implement an Effective Learning Culture for Your Company.”
2. Your Organization Is Committed to Retaining Its Employees
If your organization is committed to retaining its employees, it should invest in upskilling them. The current job market favors jobseekers, and the modern-day jobseeker wants and needs to be upskilled to remain productive.
Most jobseekers in today’s workforce believe that ongoing professional training opportunities are important to their career choices, and most employees are willing to change jobs and work for another company if it offers them more upskilling opportunities.
3. Your Organization Has Established or Will Establish Strategic Partnerships
To keep your employees upskilled in today’s modern-day workforce, you must be willing and able to establish valuable and strategic partnerships, as you will not be able to generate all the learning content your employees will require on your own.
For more details, read “Building Bridges: Must-Have Strategic Partnerships in L&D,” “When L&D Professionals Should Outsource Help,” “How to Partner with a Third Party for Training Programs,” and “When to Partner with a Third Party for Training Programs.”
4. Your Organization Wants to Remain Competitive
If your organization wants to remain competitive, it needs to upskill its current workforce to ensure that employee attrition rates are low, it’s acquiring the best industry talent possible, and its current talent pool has the most relevant skills and training.
In addition to paying attention to the four signs outlined above, review “How to Upskill Your Employees Right Now” for additional information and tips.