The State Of Upskilling

💡AI TRIVIA

If you can show how your upskilling initiatives developed internal talent for open roles (and eliminated hiring costs), you’ve helped meet a strategic business goal and turned skill development from a cost center to a source of savings in the process.

Upskilling can impact cost management beyond hiring expenses, especially when applied to your dev and IT teams. Without programmatic tech skill development, you may face additional expenses in the form of deployment inefficiencies, security risks, and lost customers. In fact, the IDC State of Global Skills found that “DX-related IT skills shortages will affect 90% of organizations by 2025 . . . costing over $6.5 trillion globally through the year due to delayed product releases, reduced customer satisfaction, and loss of business.”

📈 AI Stats

Numbers don’t lie. Here are some quick stats on upskilling, and what it means.

The 2022 Upskilling Report

In 2022, the State of Upskilling report highlighted that companies faced challenges in keeping tech talent during the Great Resignation. To tackle this, they focused on upskilling and talent mobility to reduce turnover, address skill shortages, and cut hiring costs. This year, the economic situation has changed. With a shaky economy, 65% of tech team leaders in areas like data science, IT operations, and software engineering are under pressure to find cost savings. Upskilling existing staff proves to be more budget-friendly than recruiting, so 72% are planning to boost their investment in tech skills in 2023. In essence, despite shifts in the economy, upskilling continues to be essential.

Why is it hard for people to improve their skills?

While developing tech skills is crucial, numerous obstacles stand in the way of success for tech professionals and leaders.

Although 74% of tech workers get some time during the week to learn new skills, it's insufficient. Time scarcity remains their main hurdle. For executives and HR/L&D directors, budget limitations and costs are the biggest challenges to improving skills. Over the past two years, time and budget issues have been the top barriers. Current economic difficulties have worsened these problems. Nearly half of technologists noted that hiring pauses or freezes have led them to handle tasks beyond their roles. Meanwhile, 67% of tech managers reported that layoffs in software, IT, and data sectors have increased their teams' responsibilities.

Confidence Matters 

Last year, 80% of tech professionals felt sure about their skills for their current roles. This year, most do not feel fully secure across key tech skills. This change may stem from taking on new responsibilities after layoffs or obstacles that make upskilling difficult. Lack of confidence and increased workload can reduce the drive to learn and advance. However, it's not all negative. While the economic situation adds challenges to skill development, it also presents a chance. Companies that keep training their staff despite uncertainties will help employees build essential tech skills and find new career paths.

🛠️ Leveraging AI in Your Business: Can I Upskill Online?

The answer is yes. You can indeed Upskill online. There are a lot of courses available on the internet you just need to figure out which one works for you. Here are our top picks for websites that you can upskill (and reskill) from:

LinkedIn Learning 

LinkedIn Learning excels by combining professional courses with valuable job market insights, built on the extensive LinkedIn network. This platform provides a personalized learning journey, emphasizing skills that employers value across different fields. Whether it's digital marketing, software development, leadership, or creative problem-solving, LinkedIn Learning offers courses to boost career potential and professional development. Its standout feature is the ability to suggest courses tailored to your job role and industry trends, along with skills highlighted by your network. This ensures the learning remains relevant and aligned with current market needs.

Cornerstone 

Cornerstone is an AI-driven learning management system designed for employee training. It creates tailored learning experiences and provides deeper insights into learning. A key feature of the platform is the Skills Graph. It utilizes AI and machine learning, along with a vast dataset of over 50,000 skills, to suggest courses for skill enhancement. Additionally, it offers automated content recommendations based on the learner's needs, objectives, and preferences.

SC Training (Previously EdApp) 

SC Training (Formerly known as EdApp) is a mobile-focused learning management system that helps create and deliver e-learning materials for users on the move. The platform features AI Create, which quickly produces course content and microlearning modules. This tool employs artificial intelligence to generate materials in minutes, integrating interactive components like quizzes and assessments into training resources.

💡 Reasons for Upskilling

For tech professionals, learning new skills can lead to higher salaries, broader expertise for personal growth, and better job stability. HR managers see it as a chance to boost employee retention, create a talent pool for challenging positions, and enhance job satisfaction. Tech leaders benefit by forming teams that can achieve their organization's goals more quickly and effectively.

By understanding each group's motivations, upskilling and talent mobility can be used as strategic tools to boost employee satisfaction and achieve business objectives. Upskilling also offers a way to cut costs during uncertain economic times, not just help the organization survive.

🚀 Quick Wins

• Have a Learning Plan

Outline the things you want to know, and check out the courses needed for each step to have a clear understanding of what needs to be done.

• Conduct Due Research

There are a lot of eLearning platforms that can upskill or reskill you. Each eLearning Platform will be unique catering to different types of learners. Conduct research on what you think works best for you, your time, and budget.

• Attend Seminars

These are a good way to stay up-to-date with the current industry trends that you want to upskill yourself into. Some of them might be free, while others cost a couple of dollars down the road but it’s surely worth to invest in yourself.

💡 Pro Tip

Showcase your Certificates

You didn’t go through all the trouble for nothing. Showcase your certificates on your resume. Have somewhere to store your certificates that employers can have access to. Boast them and be proud of them. You worked hard for a reason.

🔥 Hot Takes

Showcase your Certificates

You didn’t go through all the trouble for nothing. Showcase your certificates on your resume. Have somewhere to store your certificates that employers can have access to. Boast them and be proud of them. You worked hard for a reason.

💬 Expert Says

Showcase your Certificates

IT managers, security engineers, and software developers experienced the highest rates of attrition according to tech managers.

A probable reason for this is that the field is dynamic altogether. With the rise of AI, new skills are consistently being developed and looked out for.

🤔 Intrigued by AI's Potential, But Unsure of the Next Step?

We get it! This issue might have you brimming with possibilities, but where do you begin? The AI StandUp is made with ❤️ by The BrainTrust and we are here to bridge the gap. Head over to our website, or simply reply to this email with your specific questions. Let's turn your AI curiosity into a game-changing reality.

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