It is challenging for companies to keep up with technological advancements. While technology helps create business opportunities, it also leads to a growing skill gap as the demand for skilled workers soars up to meet the new age job requirements. The shortage of IT talent is a leading corporate concern, with 86% of respondents believing it will continue to slow down the cloud and other tech projects. For 79% of CEOs, a lack of essential skills within their existing employee base is a threat to growth, as per the 22nd Annual Global CEO Survey, PwC. 

The question arises: How can employers bridge this skill gap while retaining the current workforce?  

We all know that hiring and training new talent to replace an existing worker is expensive. As per Gallup, the cost of hiring an individual can range from one-half to two times the annual salary of an employee, which is again a rough estimate, and the numbers may be much higher. 

Employers can stay competitive and keep people’s skills in sync with the changing work requirements by upskilling workers. As you reskill your team, you work toward creating a cross-trained and well-rounded workforce that can boost business productivity and efficiency. For instance, leading companies like Amazon, Accenture, Verizon, and others have launched several upskilling programs over the last few years to drive innovation and accelerate business growth with a skilled modern workforce.

1. How upskilling your workforce benefits your organization?

Employee training is essential for businesses to be future-ready in an evolving tech world. Here are the benefits of upskilling you will experience while investing in employee training programs: 

1. Bridges the Skill Gap within the Organization

The growing skill gap is a serious concern for the IT industry. As technology and job roles keep evolving, companies find it difficult to fill in job positions due to a lack of skilled workers. As a result, skill shortage is costing companies millions of dollars and limiting their access to further business expansion. 

According to Gartner, about 70% of professionals lack entry-level skills, whereas the percentage for an advanced set of skills goes even higher. About 50% of jobs alone in the cloud domain remain vacant, which throws light on the growing global IT talent shortage. To bridge this skill gap and achieve business goals, the only solution that can help is upskilling your workforce. Moreover, upgrading the skills of your employees through training is much cheaper than hiring new talent. 

The illustration showcases how the skill gap impacts businesses, as shared by CEOs in 22^nd Annual Global CEO Survey by PwC:

Source: SHRM

  2. Helps in Employee Retention 

The fear of missing out (FOMO) on great opportunities can increase employee dissatisfaction. For instance, suppose you do not offer opportunities for learning and development to your employees to help them move up the corporate ladder. In that case, they are likely to leave you and move to your competitors, offering better opportunities. By creating learning opportunities through upskilling programs, you can make employees feel valued.  

Source: Giphy

Upskilling the existing workforce can help retain employees while ensuring they are future-ready. In addition, by investing in employee skill training, you increase their professional value and send the message that you are willing to invest in their professional growth, ensuring a place in the company’s future endeavors. 

3. Improves Employee Productivity

Companies invest in employee upskilling to get the best output to garner business success. As a result, 90% of employers who have invested in employee upskilling witnessed an increase in overall productivity through skill training. 

Source: Giphy

Not only the employer, even eight out of 10 employees believe that upskilling has made them more efficient and productive.  

4. Helps Embrace New Technologies

Source: Giphy

Tech advancements are one of the key reasons companies are increasingly investing in upskilling the skillset of their current workforce. To fill in the new age job roles created by technological innovations, it is necessary for employees to constantly upgrade their skills. 

5. Prepares for Workplace Contingencies

Employees may leave your organization for multiple reasons. This could include reasons like reorganizations, tech advancements, new projects, and more. However, no matter whether they quit or depart due to unexpected events, in either case, employees leaving the company may jeopardize business operations.  

Source: Giphy

Upskilling employees prepare businesses to keep a replacement ready in case of management changes or unplanned contingencies. That is why 68% of companies consider investing in employee training as their strategy to handle changes within the workplace. 

2. How to Get Started with Upskilling Your Workforce

Before you start planning your upskilling strategy, remember to identify the skill gap within your organization. Once you know what skills your employees need and how they can fit into your business plan, you can create the right upskilling/reskilling plan to prepare your workforce for the industry’s future demands. 

Here are the steps to get started: 

Give Training and Development opportunities to All. 

There might be employees handling more serious job roles and some with high productivity that you would want to focus on more as an employer. That’s normal but ensure that while focusing on a few, others don’t feel left out as it may create a negative impression about the company. So, make sure that learning and training opportunities are affordable and readily available to all your employees. 

Foster a Supportive Workplace Learning Culture 

To promote a continuous learning culture at the workplace, employers need to invest in upskilling programs and take initiatives encouraging every employee to get upskilled. A supportive learning culture is welcomed by employees who find value and take an interest in upskilling seriously when the employer pitches for it. 

The several initiatives that every employer can take to support the learning and development of their employees include: 

• Connecting personal goals with business objectives to create awareness of how individual training can have current and future benefits. 
• Enroll every employee in an upskilling program offered by CloudThat, customized per the individual skill requirements and your business needs.  

• Make skill training a necessity for all. Once you have deployed your upskilling program, work with managers to ensure that everyone enrolls and keeps learning. You must make sure that training does not end up being a one-and-done thing. 
• Promote self-learning by making learning resources centrally organized, readily accessible, and easily searchable. 

Let employees Choose Their Learning Path. 

You may have an objective in mind or a project coming up for which you want to upskill your employees. But in doing so, don’t force your learning choices on employees. Instead, let them take ownership of their personal and professional development by choosing what areas they want to get skilled on. 

Get employees Enrolled in Upskilling Programs. 

When you decide on investing in employee upskilling, the next step you must do is to get your employees enrolled in any industry-recognized upskilling program. You can reach out to CloudThat, a leading Cloud Training and Consultancy Services provider. For over a decade, CloudThat has been offering world-class training to 400K+ professionals on leading technologies like cloud, virtualization, DevOps, AI/ML, Big Data, and more in India and across the globe. 

CloudThat will assess your current skill gaps and recommend certification training courses as per your business objectives and project requirements. Help and guidance from authorized training partners like CloudThat can give your employees the right guidance and knowledge support necessary to acquire new skills and stay competent. 

Reward Upskilling Efforts of Your Staff 

Working professionals are busy, and they hardly find time to upskill. To encourage and motivate workers to take on training and development even amidst a tight work schedule, as an employer, you can offer them rewards or incentives. Recognizing their efforts with appreciation and appraisals can help in keeping your workforce happy and content.

3. Final Thought

Make sure that when you invest in upskill training and development, it shouldn’t be just for its sake. Tie your programs with desirable outcomes so that employees are encouraged to get trained. Moreover, as an employer, remember that your responsibility is not limited to investments. You must measure the results of upskilling programs and help workers grow by assigning more responsibilities or promoting them to a new position to put the skills learned to use. 

Tip: You can leverage CloudThat’s Capability Development Framework, a holistic learning solution, to upskill/reskill your employees and transform them into a project-ready billable resource. 

Download the Capability Development Framework brochure to know more. 

What are you waiting for? Start Employee Upskilling with CloudThat Now!

WRITTEN BY CloudThat

CloudThat is a leading provider of cloud training and consulting services, empowering individuals and organizations to leverage the full potential of cloud computing. With a commitment to delivering cutting-edge expertise, CloudThat equips professionals with the skills needed to thrive in the digital era.