Upskilling and Reskilling: Training Today for a Future-Forward Tomorrow

Change moves fast in business today. Recent research from Forbes suggests that the life cycle of most skill may be a mere two years. 

“That means that halfway through a four-year college degree, what you’re learning is already outdated,” suggested Clayton Lord, senior program director for the SHRM Foundation. He also noted that research from LinkedIn projects that 65% of job skill requirements will change by 2030. The discussion around the rapidly shrinking shelf life of workplace skills is enough to trigger alarm. A skills gap that is evident as early as the recruitment stage gives further reason for concern.

Finding people with appropriate skills to fill a particular position is the No. 1 challenge employers say they face, Lord said. He explained that some of this is simple math (more people are exiting, rather than entering, the workforce). Add the accelerated pace at which skills are evolving, and the gap can be exacerbated by outdated approaches to how a candidate’s skills are assessed.

“Two of 3 working-age U.S. adults today don’t have a four-year degree,” Lord reported. “And yet, by some accounts, 3 of 4 job applications require a four-year degree. SHRM research says that even when a job application doesn’t require a four-year degree, HR professionals are twice as likely to select someone who has that degree over someone who doesn’t.”

Bridging the Skills Gap

While greater adoption of skills-first hiring models can help to bridge the initial skills gap, there is clearly a compelling case for organizations to get serious about putting upskilling and reskilling programs into place. 

Skills training can no longer be a benefit granted solely or primarily to the eager or ambitious — or to someone handpicked from above. Nor can it be a one-size-fits-all program. For organizations to thrive, the upskilling and reskilling of employees at all levels requires a nuanced approach that looks at individual needs and potential just as closely as it does the organization’s future objectives.  

Jay Jones, lead of human resources, talent and employee experience, at SHRM, offered simple but direct definitions of upskilling and reskilling.

“Upskilling is focused on, ‘How can I get better at doing what I’m doing now?’ as well as, ‘What will I need to accomplish in the future, especially as my role evolves?’ ” he explained. “Reskilling, on the other hand, answers the question, ‘What can I add as a new skill that can prepare me and my division for a different role or function?’ ”

For employees, upskilling and reskilling are crucial to individual professional growth. But their development benefits the organization, as well. Lord explained that when businesses fail to invest in employee growth, the consequences can be devastating. As examples, he cited lowered morale, reduced loyalty, increased disengagement, “quiet quitting,” and full-on turnover.

“It’s an extreme competitive advantage to upskill for the jobs of tomorrow,” Lord noted.

The Spectrum of Skills Training

Both Jones and Lord personally cited artificial intelligence, data analysis, and other tech-based skills as among the most likely areas for upskilling and reskilling training today. But businesses shouldn’t overlook the need to develop greater competencies in what Lord calls “durable” skills, such as conflict management, problem-solving, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence.

“Employers are increasingly saying that these are some of the biggest challenges they have with candidates coming to work for the first time,” Lord said. He added that many of the most basic communication skills — such as having face-to-face conversations and looking someone in the eye — have proven especially lacking among entry-level employees.

“Managers have very little patience for teaching these skills,” he explained. “They may choose to let people go who demonstrate an inability to act according to expectations.” 

The Right Attitude for the Future of Work

Employers that only offer upskilling and reskilling training upon request — from a supervisor or an employee, for example — may not be as future-forward as skills-training advocates would like to see. Yet they are still ahead of organizations that don’t have this value baked into their culture.

“There’s nothing a manager likes more than an employee coming to them and asking what they need to do to deepen their skills and increase their value,” Jones explained. “Hopefully, HR can help out with these proactive requests.” But he acknowledged that this is a minimal response, given an HR team’s fundamental charge to develop talent for retention and growth. 

According to Lord, there has been an uptick in employers’ desire to understand the spectrum of skills and competencies, as well as how to continually invest in the upskilling and reskilling of teams. These efforts can look like creating clear career trajectories for employees and mapping out their professional journeys within the organization.

“It also means putting individuals in positions that align with all of their skills and aptitudes — and not just what they were hired to do,” Lord said. 

But there’s a significant gap between desire and action, he noted: “You may want to create comprehensive career pathways for all your positions. But if you don’t know what those are or how to begin doing it, then it’s just a dream.” 

Lord cited SHRM research that saw 90% of employers agreeing with a statement that a skills-first attitude is the right attitude for the future of work. But only 15% said they were prepared to act on that statement in a meaningful way. 

“We need to drastically shrink that gap so more employers can get to that first incremental, measurable, manageable skills implementation,” he added. “In the process, they’ll learn that it’s not hard, that it’s inevitable, and that it’s the future of hiring and advancement.”

HR Moves the Needle

HR teams can lead the way in this area, and they can do so without a particularly heavy lift, said Jones. He suggested the use of employee engagement survey data as a starting point in making a business case for upskilling and reskilling programs. It’s also effective for HR to “bottom line” it. 

“I frequently start with money,” Jones elaborated. HR leaders can convey that skills training saves money and time while also pointing out that it’s more efficient to advance a department or an organization through retention. Plus, “upskilling and reskilling also allows you to retain valuable institutional knowledge and fortifies the resilience of your team,”  according to Jones.

Also, as cross-department and cross-functional leaders, HR professionals can be the first to connect the dots in understanding why certain teams might not be performing well — and how upskilling or reskilling could make a difference. 

“If I put my talent acquisition hat on, this type of training program is going to make my business more attractive,” Jones explained. “In most organizations, HR teams are ready and willing to take on upskilling and reskilling, because that’s what we’re passionate about!”

Employees will also embrace a formal program of upskilling and reskilling, reaping such rewards as increased self-confidence, greater competence, eligibility for promotion opportunities, and a deeper investment in the organization overall, Jones noted. 

Most managers tend to take a similar, albeit more macro, view of the benefits of employee skills training. “They realize their teams are more fully prepared with diverse capabilities for the short and long term,” said Jones. 

But be prepared for the manager who needs greater reasons to believe. “They may say that upskilling and reskilling are deterrents or distractions for what needs to be accomplished now,” he explained. HR professionals must be ready with key messages to counter different types of pushback. 

Ultimately, a skills training program needs co-ownership by different organizational stakeholders. “It can’t just be HR’s role to make it happen,” Jones warned. “Don’t try to develop this in a vacuum. We may be the most passionate about upskilling and reskilling — but you must involve other teams in the process from the beginning.” 

At the very least, coordinating early involvement will help HR professionals “get past the eye roll,” Jones said.