Why we should stop retraining people

Earlier this month Amazon made headlines when it announced $700m to retrain a third of its US workforce.

Last week the UK Government announced ￡100m to retrain staff displaced by Artificial Intelligence.

Suzette Kent, Federal CIO to the US Government, commented that they are looking to "retrain a broader swath of employees".

That's a lot of news about a lot of training, in the last fortnight alone.

With so many emerging technologies it's easy to see how things like machine learning, artificial intelligence, and automation may replace the jobs and skills of around 40% of the workforce. It's also easy to see why, in the face of all this change, why retraining people is the obvious default solution.

But it's not, at least not on its own anyway.

The problem with retraining

The problem with retraining is how it's often seen by the person that is being "retrained'. Retraining is up there with "reprogram", "redundant" and "retire". By telling someone that they are being retrained in new skills, it automatically implies that their existing skills are old. Even if that's not what we intended, that is what gets heard.

It's disengaging, disempowering and disappointing. And it's a sure-fire way to alienate our people in the face of change.

What many missed in the Amazon announcement is that they didn't actually say that they were retraining their staff. What they are actually doing is upskilling them over the next 6 years through programs such as the Amazon Technical Academy, Machine Learning University and Associate2Tech.

But the media twisted it.

Upskilling to me is bigger than retraining, it's about capability uplift - not just of individuals but our broader organisation too.

It's about defining the capabilities and skills we need for the future and creating career pathways for our people to help them get there. Let's not dilute the opportunity for our people by simply talking about it as "retraining".

I wouldn't want to just be retrained and neither would you.

So let's stop talking about it in that way!

About the Author

Julia is on a mission to help individuals, teams, and organisations deliver bigger change, BETTER!

She has spent over two decades making great strategies a reality, executing change, and delivering benefits to organisations around the world.

Now, as a speaker, trainer, facilitator, and coach, Julia works with leaders and their teams to deliver meaningful change that matters.

Whether you are struggling with traction, are being challenged to do more with less, or need to unite around strategy, big ideas, and transformational goals, Julia knows that if you want to deliver bigger results, you have to be able to deliver better.

Julia is the author of “Buy-in: How to Lead Change, Build Commitment and Inspire People,” and is a graduate of Stanford University’s Executive LEAD program. She is based in Melbourne, Australia and works with leaders and their teams across the Asia-Pacific and US.

Contact her at [email protected] if this article sparked your interest and you're keen to explore more.