Why upskilling is important to your growth in 2021?

Piyush Mahajan

We are living in the VUCA world where there have been disruptions and transformation in the work culture. Increasing competition, evolving business requirements, rising employee needs, and innovation in technology, has made it essential to keep learning and growing. Our academic knowledge has to be supplemented with in-demand skills, hands-on experience, and creative thinking.

Someone who has about 20 years of work experience, would have done academic degree 20 years back. The ones who have been persistently investing in themselves, learning and adapting to the change, can be seen growing by leaps and bounds. On the other hand, who has not thought of learning new skills required in their domain, are impacted in today’s times.

The World Economic Forum launched an initiative- “Reskilling Revolution” in Jan 2020, to encourage better education, skills and jobs by 2030 so that the professionals can future-proof their careers and can contribute to the growth of world economy. 

Now when we understand that upskilling is the need of the hour, next major challenge comes to our mind is what shall I do to figure out WHAT and HOW to upskill on. Here are some of the steps you can follow:

1.    Industry specific skills

a.    Awareness of the current situation, the future and growth prospects of your own industry will play a crucial role to start with.

b.    Research the latest developments, understand patterns & future opportunities

c.    Network with the thought leaders of your company/domain, actively participate in the discussions within the organisation and social media.

2.    Soft skills

a.    Some of the top soft skills in demand irrespective of the industry are communication, creative thinking, time management, problem solving, emotional intelligence, people management, etc. Being mindful of your role and behaviour at work will help gain these skills.

b.    Take regular feedbacks from your mentors/managers to understand your improvement areas in addition to self-reflection.

c.    Participating actively in networking events will help you build connection, gain different perspectives, influence people through your actions and build healthy relationships at workplace.

I am reminded of Zig Zaglar quote here, “If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you.”

So if you are determined to continually invest in yourself, inculcate these easy-to-adapt habits-

• Leverage technology
• Regularly invest in yourself
• Explore learning opportunities
• Attend virtual events
• Set up SMART learning goals for yourself
• Utilise learning platforms provided by your organisation/institution
• Keep a track of productivity by identifying your time utilisers and wasters

With work from home culture imbibing in almost every sector be it technology, manufacturing, healthcare, construction, e-commerce, education, telecommunications, etc., the future of growing and sustaining in today’s job market is up-skilling, re-skilling or cross-skilling. This will equip people and organisations with the desired skills to succeed in future. The most competitive businesses will be the ones investing to reskill and upskill their current employees.

The writer is Certified Life Coach and Corporate Facilitator Career Advancement and Performance Enhancement

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