Change is the only constant thing in life; it is inevitable. Everything in life keeps changing and the career world is not left behind. After a major shift in workplaces around the world due to covid-19 in 2020, a lot of people were displaced from the career world. However, some people with high skills were still able to make it. And this made other people think of upskilling and reskilling. In this article, we will discuss what upskilling and reskilling is and how it can be a way to advance your career.
What is Upskilling And Reskilling?
Even though they are both involved with skills, upskilling and reskilling are different. Upskilling means improving your skill set in order to enhance your performance at your job or in the career world in general. While reskilling means learning an entirely new skill set in order to change job or career path. In recent times, a lot of people are upskilling and reskilling so that they can remain relevant in the career world.
Importance Of Upskilling And Reskilling
It helps you stay relevant in your industry
Due to technological advancement, a lot of workers have been displaced. Therefore, it is essential that you keep your ears to the ground so that you can be aware of threats to your job. Even though there is automation of jobs, there are still companies that are hiring people with necessary skills. Hence, you need to upskill or reskill to stay relevant in your industry.
Gives room for successful career transition
Another benefit of Upskilling and reskilling is that it makes career transition smooth. If you are looking to transition into a new job or career path, then upskill or reskill. Taking a course will help you understand the nitty gritty of the new job or career. And this can help you tackle any interview process during your transition. Besides, it will increase your chance of transitioning into a better job or career path.
It enables you get a raise
One of the importance of upskilling and reskilling is to get a raise. If you are looking to get a much better pay than the one you are being paid currently, then you need to improve your competence. And one sure way of improving competence is by learning new skills or improving old ones. You might have to invest a long time learning or improving skills. But the increment in salary or pay is totally worth the time.
Helps future-proof your career
As we have been saying in this article, technological advancement is making people lose their jobs. This is because most jobs are automated, thereby there is no need for human beings. However, the number of jobs that will be automated is debatable. That is why as a career person, you need to keep yourself updated with new skills every time. Hence, you will become irreplaceable in your industry or field.
It keeps you up-to-date about industry latest demand
Industry trends and demand come and go. So to keep yourself up-to-date with the recent trends in your field, you need to upskill or reskill. This means you will always be relevant in your industry no matter the latest demand or trend.
Areas in which You can Upskill and Reskill
There are lots of areas in which you can upskill and reskill. Here are some;
- Digitally
As a worker in this ever changing career world, you need to upgrade your digital skills. A lot of benefits are attached to having digital skills. Such as higher pay, ability to work remotely and so on. Some digital skills you can learn include;
- Web development
- Programming
- Digital Marketing
- Social Media Management
- UI/UX design, and so on.
- Analytically
A lot of companies are in need of analysts such as staticians, data scientists and so on. This has made analytic skills be in high demand. Some analytic skills you can learn are;
- Data Science
- Business Analysts
- Inductive and deductive reasoning
- Critical Thinking
- Researching, and so on.
- Soft skills
Another set of skill sets you can learn or improve on are soft skills. These are skills that you use while interacting with others. Because machines do not understand human emotions, jobs that require this skill cannot be easily automated. Some top soft skills that are in high-demand include;
- Creativity
- Emotional Intelligence
- Collaboration
- Communication
- Persuasion skills, and so on.
Read Top key skills you need to get hired in 2022
Steps Involved In Upskilling And Reskilling
Now that you know what upskilling and reskilling is, its importance and some areas you can learn or improve your skills. We will share some tips on how you can upskill and reskill
Step 1: Know your Goals and Find knowledge gap
The first thing to do is to know your end goal. Is promotion to a senior level your goal as an entry level employee? Or perhaps your own goal is to work your way to being the ceo. Having a goal is the first step to take while thinking of learning new skills or improving on existing skills. Once you have a clear goal in mind, the next thing to do is to find the knowledge gap. This means that you find the skills and knowledge that can help achieve your dream. And how do you do this? You can find the knowledge gap by simply searching for your dream role on the internet. Then, you scroll through each role and read the job description. This will give you the idea of what skill you need to acquire to achieve your goal.
Step 2: Start with learning plan
Once you know the skills you need to learn or improve on, then you need a learning plan. However, before you draw a learning plan, you should know that you do not need to break the bank to learn new skills. You can just purchase some cheap courses on Udemy. Besides, you can get free courses on Coursera, Futurelearn, and so on. Then map out the quantity of time you will spend learning each day. Make it as realistic as possible to avoid lagging behind.
Step3: Learn the skills
Now that you have a learning strategy, the next thing to do is to start learning. You should know that upskilling or reskilling takes time and dedication. If you feel like giving up at any point, remind yourself of the end goal to motivate yourself.
Step 4: Implement the skills
Learning new skills or improving on existing ones is useless if you do not implement it. Therefore, you should try testing them out once you finish learning. You can always contribute at your workplace to showcase your new knowledge.
Final Thought
The career world is constantly changing, therefore, it is important that you future-proof yourself to remain relevant. Upskilling and reskilling is a continuous process, so you need to continually need to upskill or reskill to advance your career.
