CXO Bytes

Future of Work: The dire need to up skill and reskill the workforce

The workplace was disrupted by the rapid adoption of new technologies and methods of operation. Until the pandemic caused nationwide lockdowns, the idea of businesses switching to virtual work models seemed far-fetched. The world of work has now reached a point where new ways of working have become a blueprint for future work models, despite the initial concerns. In the midst of the chaos, it has become increasingly important for people to have hands-on experience with the skills.

According to recent estimates from the World Economic Forum, technology is likely to change nearly one third of jobs, or over 1 billion jobs, in the next decade. It demonstrates that education is an urgent requirement for business agility and workforce readiness for future roles. The rapidly changing employment landscape supports the need for collaboration between the government, businesses, and educational institutions to create an environment that encourages “learning in the flow of work.”

Factors driving the need for up skilling and reskilling

Rapid technological advancements, a rising demand for technology specialists with specific skills, and an ever-changing business environment are to blame for the major shifts in the nature of work. This asks talent managers and employees in a variety of industries how they can adapt to a highly dynamic environment to meet the industry’s new roles and activities. At the moment, the majority of employees lack the skills necessary to keep up with the sweeping wave of digitalization.

Additionally, numerous jobs have been eliminated as a result of the adoption of emerging technologies like cloud computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analytics, and block chain. As a result, a lot of workers quit their jobs because they didn’t feel like they were a good fit for the role they were working for, and others rushed to improve their skills to stay in the ever-changing work environment.

Talent managers, on the other hand, face a number of obstacles when looking for new employees to fill open positions, just like employees do. Talent managers oversee reskilling and up skilling programs to raise the competencies of the current workforce and leadership by adding hands-on experience to the employees’ knowledge.

Involving cost benefits

Companies are cutting costs to the bone in this highly volatile market. To find that one candidate who is right for the job, talent managers need to spend a lot of time and money. However, the company suffers losses as a result of the numerous delays caused by this. Creating a workforce that is ready for work appears to be a cost-effective option that also involves reskilling new hires or temporary contract workers. It is quicker than hiring new employees who might expect a higher CTC, take longer to join, or simply not show up for an interview or joining. Therefore, talent managers must expend a significant amount of resources in order to save time and money while developing a workforce that is resilient and digitally agile.

Promoting employee retention and engagement

In a digitally driven world, having an agile workforce that is ready for future demand is a necessity. The economy is evolving at an unprecedented scale and an employee who has limited skills will not be able to retain his job. Similarly, a company is not able to retain employees who are willing to gain knowledge and stay ahead in the market, yet fail to achieve their personal development plans while being with the company. To retain the workforce for the long run, talent managers must look at skill-building exercises as a culture of learning and getting the future ready.

Bottom Line

Talent managers must find and close the supply-demand gap as the workplace undergoes unprecedented transformations. While focusing on the need to up skill and reskill in accordance with market dynamics, serving as a link between employers and employees can further prepare stakeholders for disruption.

(The author is Ms. Yogita Tulsiani, MD & Co-founder, iXceed Solutions (Global Tech-Recruiter Provider) and the views expressed in this article are her own)

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