Being technically sound in one’s area of work is now an asset of the past. Being versatile in the ever-changing world helps employees survive in the workplace and keeps them resilient during turbulent times.
On the other hand, employers need to give due respect to honing employees’ hard and soft skills and include upskilling of employees into their annual budget of Soft Skills Training Singapore.
This article will shed light on what is upskilling and the top 10 reasons to upskill in the workplace.
What is upskilling?
Upskilling transforms the employee to be a more competent, resilient and competitive version of themselves in the workplace.
Therefore employers need to support the existing workforce to gain these valuable new skills to climb the corporate ladder and create a more robust workforce that has an edge on their performance and overall well being. An upskilled employee thus becomes an asset to the workplace.
The primary motivation of Online Courses Singapore is for the employer to identify the top performers in the workplace. Hence it helps to keep the workplace’s best talent. It increases productivity in the workplace and increases the bottom line of the company.
As a result, employee job satisfaction increases and reduces the turnover rate in the organisation. Therefore, upskilling is a good investment and shows employees that the company cares about their betterment. Ultimately, a skilled employee can provide better customer service, which will give rise to better results all round.
The Top Ten Reasons To Upskill
- It develops leadership skills
More often than not, managers worry about employees not taking up more challenging tasks in the workplace. As a result, lack of productivity, less risk-taking and low motivation within a team occurs. Upskilling helps the company to grow the employees to be better leaders to climb the corporate ladder. Resources invested in upskilling employees will not be seen as wasted when they are competent enough to forward the company.
- It helps the company stay abreast of competitors
One of the essential tasks that employees need to keep in mind daily is being relevant and vigilant to the industry’s new trends. Employees have to be sound and adopt the right attitude towards building an ‘edge’ over other companies.
New software makes it to the market daily. New subjects such as business analytics, robotics and artificial intelligence are paving their way into the future. Hence employees need to make sure they continuously upskill to embrace the change in the workplace.
- It helps employee become digitally savvy
As stated by Oracle.com, the future is on the Internet of Things (IoT). Those who do not upskill themselves face repercussions of job loss and, even worse, getting left behind in a continuously progressive workplace.
Given that mature employees now need to be digitally competent as Millenials, upskilling to adapt to various digital skills is paramount. While a business analyst traditionally doesn’t need to code, having decent background knowledge on the subject matter helps in the long run. Upskilling is essential in learning how to think, react proactively, and thrive in a digitally sustainable world in time to come.
- Become an innovative asset to any company
Technology is not a naturally occurring substance found on earth. As we know it, the future is present because humans could visualise an idea and invent it for the betterment of all human beings.
Fast-forward to recent times, presenting this invention to the market meant an insane amount of innovation took place. From landing a man on the moon to building hybrid vehicles somewhere along the way, someone thought differently. Employees with an innovative mindset have a bright future ahead of them. Companies tend to upskill these employees over those who rest on their laurels and are passive in their work ethic.
- If can bring about financially stability
Providing upskilling opportunities to employees means the employer does not need to recruit new staff who may cost more. Furthermore, an upskilled employee will be more than happy with Skillsfuture Courses Singapore and persevere towards more challenging, higher-paid jobs. Upskilling means gaining new knowledge and skills and also improved attitude and behaviour in the workplace.
PwC Network expects to invest around USD 3 billion in their workforce globally to keep them relevant and competent in their respective fields. A more qualified person can also demand higher pay, and upskilling gives employees an invaluable opportunity.
- Improved communication
More often than not, employees tend to disengage with the employees and other colleagues at the workplace. Lack of communication can result in interdepartmental conflicts, frustration, and many other detrimental factors affecting the organisation’s employment level. Therefore effective communication upskilling is a vital factor. The employee’s understanding improves significantly and helps to survive and sustain in the workplace.
- The missing piece – empathy
In this fast-paced world, one often misses out on the finer nuances in a workplace, such as emotional intelligence. Professional and technical intelligence gets you the job. Being more versatile in your soft skills will help you retain the position in the workplace. Therefore upskilling to understand how to walk in your colleague and customer’s shoes is vital in any organisation. Empathising not only enhance your professionalism at the workplace but also helps you synergise better with your team.
- Developing better negotiation skills
Negotiations take place by shaking a deal with an iron fist but with a velvet touch. A lousy deal reflects poorly on the overall reputation of the company. To avoid this, employers need to ensure that necessary negotiation skills are to the employee. A skilful negotiator is a competent employee who can get a good bargain and sustain the cost and time taken to get work done.
- Becoming more adaptable
A competent employee is one who has the right skill set to adapt quickly to an organisation. The employee has cross-functional skills. There will be more opportunities to work with inter-departmental projects as well. The adaptable employee is also someone who can work under tight deadlines. The agility of the employee also makes them more valuable and reliable to the team.
- Overarching professionalism
A warm and genuine smile, a diplomatic speaker, an attentive employee are all characteristics of a professional employee. A genteel employee exudes confidence and is an asset to the company.
Professionalism is a life long attitude; one needs to develop as time goes. Especially in this competitive world, professionalism is what endures and helps the employee move up the corporate ladder. Therefore upskilling is the mechanism to polish skills that will enhance professionalism in a workplace.
At Exena Learning Hub, we value the importance of upskilling and becoming a better version of yourself at the workplace. Our team of helpful experts can harness your growing potential and, with the aid of the latest technology and best business practices, help you reach greater heights.
As much as upskilling enables you to achieve greater financial security, it also allows you to become more confident. These soft skills are priceless, and no matter how VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) the world may be, upskilling will help you survive and thrive at your workplace.
References
https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/issues/upskilling/everyone-digital-world.html