With the increasing importance of learning and development initiatives in organizations, the term reskilling has become commonplace. Organizations can leverage reskilling in order to curb the widening talent gap and as part of a strategic plan.
But first, what is reskilling?
Reskilling, according to LinkedIn, is the process of teaching employees new skills currently outside the employee’s skill set. It is very similar to the concept of upskilling. The end goal, however, with reskilling versus upskilling, is that reskilling is often a lateral move rather than an upwards one.
Reskilling is gaining even more importance because of the changing nature of jobs. Due to changing technology, the skills and roles needed in organizations are constantly evolving. Organizations need reskilling strategies in place now in order to benefit the future retention of employees. Rather than letting an employee go due to redundancy, reskilling is a great tool to retain competent workers and fill the talent gap.
What is a talent gap?
A talent gap refers to the skillset that employees have versus the skillset they need to have in order to meet organizational goals. According to McKinsey, 87 percent of organizations either are aware of a current talent gap or know that their company will be faced with one over the next few years.
Many industries are currently faced with a significant talent gap including healthcare, technology and higher education.
Knowing that a knowledge gap is imminent means companies should start implementing strategies now. By implementing solutions while resources are available, they’re able to strategically plan for the future.
Talent gaps in organizations can have detrimental effects on their workforce. Without enough employees who can do their job, organizations experience a decrease in quality, inefficient production as well as increased costs.
Companies cannot afford to wait.
How can reskilling help to fill the talent gap?
As previously mentioned, the nature of the US workforce is constantly changing. Positions that might’ve been relevant even 10 years ago, may not be as relevant today.
Sometimes, entire departments are eliminated due to changing technology and an entirely new team is needed to operate the new technology. However, doing this can completely decimate productivity and, therefore, negatively affect the bottom line and is a strict example of how reskilling can benefit a company.
When companies already have capable workers, reskilling them in order to take on different roles can also help your employees branch out into new departments. For example in healthcare, a medical assistant may realize that he would prefer to work as an X-ray tech. Instead of losing that employee, by providing reskilling opportunities, your employee could transfer to a different department when a position opens. Rather than hiring two new employees, you’d be just hiring one.
Incorporating reskilling as part of a company’s strategic plan also amplifies the security employees feel. According to LinkedIn’s 2022 Skills Advantage Report, “Employees who feel their skills are not being put to good use in their current job are 10x more likely to be looking for a new job.” Simply put, reskilling retains employees and saves the company money because, according to SHRM, it can cost as much as 3 to 4 times the employee’s salary to hire someone new.
Why Emerge
Across the board, industries are struggling to fill talent gaps. Reskilling is an easy way to rectify that. Emerge Education can help you with that process.
With our expertise in workforce development, we offer a multitude of certificate programs that lead to industry certifications to help organizations reskill their employees. From healthcare to tech, we cover a vast array of in-demand industry skills. Call us at 800.208.5499 or email us at info@emergeedu.com to get started today or with any questions you may have.
