Upskilling: What It Means and How It Can Help Your Career

As you progress through your career, you may find opportunities to build upon your existing skill set. Over time, these new or advanced skills may be why you move into a management position or take on more interesting projects at work. As our workforce changes and grows, many government offices are taking notice and creating initiatives to help workers develop and expand in-demand skills. To help improve the training ecosystem in the United Kingdom, the UK Government presented the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill to parliament for the purpose of helping connect professionals with training and upskilling opportunities.

Although skills development can happen naturally over time, some people choose to actively pursue their professional development goals by upskilling. Likewise, some companies encourage their employees to upskill in order to generate growth opportunities internally.

In this article, we’ll discuss what upskilling means and how you can work toward higher-level skills that align with your career path.

What is upskilling?

Upskilling means learning new and enhanced skills related to your current role. Think of it as ‘levelling up’ your skills.

Often, you’ll deepen your knowledge about your role and industry as you gain more experience. Upskilling is typically a more intentional learning process where you’ll gain exposure to that deeper knowledge sooner through skills development courses, certifications, or mentorship programmes.

Depending on your role, you may find it beneficial to elevate your soft skills, technical skills, or both.

Upskilling vs. reskilling

Upskilling and reskilling are two terms that tend to go hand in hand. Whereas upskilling involves elevating your current skill set, reskilling involves learning new cross-functional skills. With reskilling, you may be able to move into a new role or widen the scope of your current role.

Benefits of upskilling

Often, the benefits of upskilling are listed from a company perspective. Namely, companies that invest in upskilling their employees tend to see better employee engagement and a greater retention rate. In the long run, this can save money by reducing recruitment costs.

However, upskilling is beneficial for individuals as well. Through upskilling, you could:

• Remain competitive in the job market

• Qualify for a promotion

• Secure a new job

• Increase productivity

• Continue self-improvement

How to upskill

The process of upskilling is closely related to working toward your career goals. You’ll likely want to consider your goals as you determine the areas you want to upskill.

To get started, compare your current workplace and technical skills (soft and hard skills) to the skills you’ll need in order to achieve your long-term career goals. Some skills you may already have, while others may need to develop. Depending on your goals, you can address any gaps you see by upskilling or reskilling.

Tip: Writing your career development plan may help you organise your path forward. In this document, you can outline your goals, skills, and resources and track your progress over time. Find a free template here.

Here are some ways you can start upskilling (and reskilling) today:

• Learn about your available resources: Some companies sponsor access to career development programmes or upskilling platforms, such as Coursera, to their employees. Ask your People Operations or Human Resources representative about any offerings.

• Seek out relevant training: No matter what you’re trying to learn, there is no shortage of courses to upskill. You can likely find relevant courses online or at your local college, Jobcentre plus, jobseeker support programmes, local libraries, and training providers are also great resources to identify upskilling opportunities. Browse popular free courses on Coursera.

• Earn a certificate: For an enhanced credential, consider enrolling in a certificate programme. Typically more labour-intensive than an individual course, a certificate can demonstrate additional expertise in a particular area.

• Volunteer: Volunteer your time and services at a centre such as the ones found through the National Council of Volunteer Organisations. This can help you develop new skills, gain work experience, and build community connections.

• Find a mentor: As you figure out the areas you’ll most benefit from upskilling, it can help to talk to someone who has already achieved the type of goals you’re working toward. A mentor can offer personalised guidance as you move toward progress.

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