What’s Next? Investing in Yourself and in Your Skills

Losing a job is a difficult experience, and it can be particularly challenging in the midst of a global crisis that has shaken up the job market. Even the most resilient among us can feel knocked off course by this kind of upheaval.?

For those who have found themselves unemployed due to the pandemic, adapting and reinventing themselves has been the only option. But there is hope.??

Reskilling and upskilling have become buzzwords for good reason - they are vital tools for anyone looking to regain their competitiveness in the job market, or who is seeking to transition into a new area professionally.?

So, what do these terms mean???

Although they are often used together, they have distinct meanings.??

• Upskilling means enhancing and updating your current skillset - this is particularly relevant for those who want to advance in their chosen field.?
• Meanwhile, reskilling means acquiring an entirely new set of skills, which is most useful for people who are changing career paths.?

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The World Economic Forum?estimate this finding with 50% of all employees required to undergo reskilling or upskilling by 2025 due to adoption of new technologies.???

As AI is increasingly replacing jobs with repetitive actions and little need for creativity, individuals who want to safeguard their role and ensure longevity will need to finetune soft skills – centred around what it means to be human.?

It’s “much more than hard skills like learning new digital tools and competencies. The soft skills—leadership, adaptability, how to translate feedback into measurable change—are what make short-term skills training more long-lasting and transformative,” the World Economic Forum shares.?

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IMPORTANCE OF CONTINUOUS LEARNING?

The effectiveness of efforts to up/reskill lies in the continuous learning aspect of the process.?Continuous learning is fluid and dynamic, adapting with changing times. Unlike traditional methods of imbibing knowledge, where the level of the trainee’s knowledge peaks immediately after the training event but gradually fades over time due to lack of reinforcement, continuous learning contributes to the long term retention of the knowledge acquired during the up/reskilling process.?

The manner in which up/reskilling education is imparted is fundamentally conducive to continuous learning.??

On our part, we can promote continuous learning by forming daily habits and taking up practices that enable us to apply our newfound skills in our day to day routine.?

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AVENUES FOR UP/RESKILLING?

?The golden question is how does one go about up/reskilling? In today’s internet age, where every book, every conceivable opinion can be accessed at the click of a button, it has become easier than ever to find resources to edify oneself.??

My personal journey kicked off in 2017, when I embarked on an executive MBA programme. The learning went far beyond the prescribed readings. I got a chance to network and form meaningful relationships with an amazing group of people, talented professionals with diverse backgrounds.?

The course facilitated an exchange of ideas, broadening our worldview, exposing us to different perspectives and new ways of approaching things.??

It also gave me access to a 60,000-strong alumni network, a boon when on the hunt for a job, greatly increasing the chances of encountering a familiar name or landing an internal recommendation leading to a hire.?

Up/reskilling can be part of the company ethos too, as I discovered in my time at Microsoft. The company invested in empowering us to be our best selves, giving us the opportunity to learn uninterruptedly, whether it was knowing more about the sales and marketing function, leadership and negotiation or garnering technical expertise on cloud solutions.?

One thing led to the next, having developed a zest for learning during the MBA programme and the Microsoft stint, I became part of the directors program to further enhance my leadership skills.??

Most recently, with all the emphasis around sustainability, I find myself seeking out new sources of information to know more about how that story is unfolding. Another area that has piqued my interest is alternative channels of funding, especially venture capital.?

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CULTIVATE A HEALTHY CURIOSITY FOR THE WORLD AROUND YOU?

Training, up/reskilling is so much more than retaining and recalling on command a body of knowledge. True learning?broadens our horizons. Re-upskilling courses also serve as a critical platform for meeting people from different cultures. It can help establish connections and in finding a career mentor, such as a peer coach, an experienced colleague to guide you, challenge you and help you navigate tasks beyond your typical remit.?

Ultimately, learning is a lifelong process. For the inquisitive, enthusiastic ones among us, the chance to acquire new abilities is a rewarding pursuit.??

The sense of satisfaction and empowerment that comes from knowing more and learning cannot be quantified. Cultivating a healthy curiosity for the world around you and keeping an open mind can go a long way in ensuring not just job competitiveness but your mental well-being. Up/reskilling are crucial gateways to unleashing the potential of the growth-minded individual.??