When you hear the word "reskill" your automatic reaction might be "I don't have time to get retrained" or "I can't afford to go back to college or university".
But stop. What is reskilling? How does it differ from upskilling? Essentially, both are preparing yourself for future work.
Reskilling or upskilling: what's the difference?
Reskilling is using your present experience and advancing this knowledge, or retraining in a new role, so your skills are relevant for today's work demands.
Upskilling may be carried out as part of your current job, or you may choose to do it in your own time. It might involve taking a course to update or improve your skills so that you are prepared for the changing needs of your job or the business you work for.
With both reskilling and upskilling, you are:
- Acknowledging the experience you have
- Identifying the transferable skills that you possess
- Adapting and enhancing your skills to become relevant to today's workplace needs
Start with what you already have
Reskilling rarely starts with a blank page. It starts with an honest look at what you have already built.
What interests you? What sector would you like to work in? If you are trying to identify alternative jobs, it is essential to explore what you would like to do.
What skills do employers require? Identifying the skills that are most in need, or that will be needed, means you will be focusing on the most up-to-date and relevant requirements. This may mean gaining a certain qualification, becoming literate in particular IT, or gaining an understanding of specific legal policy documents.
What transferable skills do you have? Many of us don't realise the skills that we already possess, and therefore underestimate our abilities:
- Have you managed a team? This does not just mean supervising colleagues. It can include organising volunteers or overseeing the work of a project group.
- Do you have good communication skills? Communication covers everything from writing and speaking, to listening to and training other people.
- How is your problem solving? This can include anticipating change, assessing situations quickly, and making judgements on the importance of information.
Skills Finder on Stay Nimble turns your CV into a record of the skills you have built up to this point, which lands in My Superpowers for you to look back over. It is usually more than people expect.
When you break your current or past roles down into individual skills, you are in a better position to see how they adapt to fit future work roles. How you present your skills makes a real difference to how an application lands.
So how do you meet future employer needs?
Employers want people who will work hard to improve their business, fulfil the needs of their clients, and work well with people at all levels. They will also have basic essential requirements that employees must possess.
It is these essential requirements that you should set out to gain.
There are more ways to learn than there used to be. You can study at home through online courses and distance learning, or enrol on something that requires daily or weekly attendance. Colleges and universities offer full-time, part-time, block release, evening classes, and even weekend and summer schools. Private training providers offer online learning or learning centres.
The harder question is usually not "where do I learn?" but "which one is actually worth my time?"
Nim can help with that. Tell it what you want to build and it will search for courses that fit your direction, including what is available near you rather than only online.
If you are unsure what to do, speak to your career coach, or talk to the college, university or training provider to find out more about what is required on the courses that interest you. The more information you get, the less daunting retraining or upskilling will be.
The confidence comes later
One of the biggest challenges people describe when reskilling is not the learning itself. It is the feeling of being a beginner again, often after years of being the person who knew what they were doing.
That feeling is not a warning sign. It is what learning something new feels like from the inside, and it passes.
Retraining rarely starts with feeling ready. It starts with one small piece of it, done badly, then done better. The confidence follows the doing, not the other way round.
