Upskilling and Reskilling are Your Key to Career Longevity

The need for advanced employee skills is growing at a faster pace than anticipated. The events of 2020 drove the need for companies to quickly transition their employees to remote operations. From a hiring perspective, company’s face the challenge of building an agile and scalable workforce. Did you know that in the last 3 years, the number of skills required in the workplace has increased from 178 to 924 skills? Companies want employees that are actively engaging in these skills.

More and more companies are on the hunt for qualified candidates that are self-professed life-long learners. If you haven’t learned any new, marketable skills that you can promote on your resume or LinkedIn that an employer would view as something they’d like to add to their organization, you’re in real danger of falling behind.

Upskilling Versus Reskilling

Although upskills and reskilling are loosely related, they each serve a different purpose. Upskilling involves updating skills you already have for a job that continually evolves. For example, a cybersecurity expert may need to upskill knowledge and training to protect increasing complex systems, networks, and programs from digital attacks.

Reskilling involves learning new skills to move into a new position in your current company. For a growing number of employers, focusing efforts on reskilling existing employees is preferable to hiring and onboarding new employees because it’s a lot more cost-effective.

Success in both upskilling and reskilling depends largely on an individual’s desire to keep learning and developing marketable skills.

The Value of a 4-Year Degree and the Future of Skills in a Fast-Changing Workforce

For years, we have been encouraged to acquire college degrees based on an implicit promise of future job security. The degrees we earn serve as proof of our professional integrity and ability to perform the jobs we seek.

However, the framework of work and careers is quickly shifting, evolving, and refocusing into a climate where key skills will be prioritized over academic achievements. The gig economy and the pandemic have been major forces in propelling this change. Companies have already adopted this paradigm and as other companies accept this new paradigm, the future of professional performance will redefine career success across the global landscape.

Image Credit: Robert Lambert

Now be honest… is the resume and cover letter you’ve been submitting for jobs getting you noticed? What about your LinkedIn? Are you receiving invitations to interview? If not, we should talk! Contact me by phone: 1-866-562-0850, email: info@topresumewriting.com, or text: 256-733-0560 to schedule a NO COST, NO OBLIGATION 15-minute consultation.