What is the difference between upskilling and reskilling?
Upskilling and reskilling are two different ways of developing your workforce.
In this blog, we will discuss the differences between them both and how you can make the most appropriate decision and plan for the future.
Upskilling
Upskilling is about adapting and changing within a current role. You will be expanding your skillset to be better equipped to do your job. An example would be how working from home became more popular since the pandemic, people needed to adapt and build their digital skills to access online meetings, training or make processes more efficient for remote working.
Upskilling is seen as a more cost-efficient option for businesses, as they can focus on improving their current employees’ skills via training courses, mentoring and microlearning, rather than having to invest in hiring someone new.
Businesses that offer upskilling opportunities are more likely to attract new talent as it demonstrates a clear commitment to employees’ professional development and career progression. Upskilling can also fill gaps of your company, it is easier to address skills gaps in your company by training current employees, rather than going out and hiring new ones.
Reskilling
Reskilling focuses on new skills which potentially could open up new and different career opportunities.
Reskilling enables employers to retain talented team members whilst adapting to the changing needs of the company. Reskilling adapts better with fast changes, for example, job posting and interviewing would take longer than reskilling a current employee who is already familiar with the culture of the company.
Reskilling has many of the same benefits as upskilling, you reduce employee turnover as employees that are given access to training are more likely to stay with a company long-term, reducing turnover.
If you would like more information on upskilling or reskilling, please take a look at our courses:
https://rmtraining.co.uk/learners/apprenticeships/