But let's take a closer look at the concepts - what do we mean by Upskilling and Reskilling? That it's about skills development and developing your skills both upwards and across the board is clear - but more specifically? Skills can be about everything from creating advanced spreadsheets in Excel to problem solving and collaboration skills. Some refer to skills as hard skills in relation to soft skills, with the latter example - problem solving and collaboration - often seen as "soft skills". In an article by Josh Bersin; Let's Stop Talking About Soft Skills: They're PowerSkills, he takes issue with just that, writing that soft skills are what really make a difference at work and they are skills that are hard to build. It's really the "hard skills" and the skills that are hard to achieve. It can be anything from communication skills to creativity and innovation capacity. It is also the skill set that will be most in demand in the future. He writes:
"The skills of the future are not technical, they're behavioral"
He, and many other researchers, refer to them as power skills.
"...skills that can't be replaced by machines."
It is, of course, about people, about leaders and about employees - and about skills that are built and developed over time. This places high demands on leadership and on investing in learning. It is about seeing learning and development over time, not as one-offs. It's about a growth mindset and providing opportunities to grow with the company. It's about creating a culture of learning, or as the report says: 2022 - Workplace Learning Trends Report.
"An internal learning culture is your competitive edge. By building learning as an expectation into the flow of work, each member of the workforce is empowered to own their learning experience and unlock possibilities for themselves and the organization."
Please contact us to discuss how you can create a learning culture in your organisation.
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