In today’s day and age, technology has become a constant due to its evolving nature. Due to the high demand for livelihood opportunities in the technology sector, upskilling has become an option for those who wish to pursue work in the Information Technology field. It is also defined as the process of using additional training or education to build upon and advance your current skills.
So how does one best upskill? There are many ways that one can successfully and best upskill. First, you can upskill by taking digital courses available online such as from Yellow Tail Tech. Secondly, you can upskill your soft skills by shadowing someone in your company. These are some of the ways that you can best upskill.
What Is Upskilling?
Upskilling is defined as the process in which you learn and upgrade your current skill set. In the technological world, it has become quite the buzzword because continuous technological advancement has caused companies to rapidly change the way they operate. As a result of technological advancements, employees now have to add and update their knowledge and skill set in order to keep up with new trends and retain business.
Some examples of upskilling include taking a coding workshop or certification from various websites to build on your programming knowledge or attending a virtual conference to learn about emerging industry trends.
In addition, it is good to note that upskilling is different from reskilling. With upskilling, you add more to your current skill set. With reskilling, you invest in learning new skills to do a different role.
In the worst-case scenario, when employees do not upskill, they add to the skill gap. The skill gap is the gap between the number of roles that require certain skills and the number of people that actually possess those skills, according to High-Speed Training. Due to the skill gap, employees can lose their jobs, and their employment status has a high risk.
The Benefits of Upskilling
Upskilling has several benefits. These benefits include:
- Boost Your Employability – The more skills you have and the more skills that you develop, you will have more job opportunities that are available to you.
- Higher Job Security – When you upskill, you develop skills that are in demand and relevant to your industry. By not lagging behind, you are less likely to lose your job.
- Make A Career Change – Your newly acquired skills can help you land a promotion or help you get a similar job at a new company.
- Boost Morale – According to studies, upskilling improves one’s morale. It also gives you the potential for more varied work as well as a broader understanding of your company.
How Can I Upskill?
You can upskill by following these methods:
- Set a goal and personal development plan – First, you have to identify what your goals are when you are going to upskill. Do you want a new job? Do you want a promotion? After identifying your goal, you have to list down the areas you want to upskill in. A good tip to identify the areas you need to upskill in is to identify your skill and knowledge gaps in your field. From there, you can develop a training plan on what courses you need to take.
- Online training – Secondly, if you have a low budget, there are plenty of free certifications and training available online to help you in upskilling.
- Shadow someone in your company – Aside from hard skills, you can also upskill with your soft skills. A good example is to shadow someone in your company. As an alternative to shadowing, that person can also mentor you. It is a good way to learn new skills as well as make more industry connections.
Wrapping Up
Upskilling has several benefits. It can help you to further your career, boost your employability, and help you achieve your personal goals. With today’s job climate, upskilling has never been more relevant and important.
Author’s Bio:
Deinah Storm works in the corporate industry. She has quite a bit of knowledge about IT career certification as she went through several of these before. When not busy, Deinah finds the time to write about IT career certification to help aspiring data tech individuals.
Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat
