Upskilling the workforce is vital for any business to deliver better performance. We reside in a world of technological advancements, and for any business to become successful, technology plays an important role. A business that wants to thrive in these changing conditions will need a workforce with new skills, especially digital skills. To keep up with these dynamic times, many companies are investing heavily in upskilling programmes.
Recently, Amazon announced that it would invest US $ 700 M in its upskilling programme, to train 1,00,000 workers to move into technical and non-technical roles. Rather than recruiting brand-new staff for their organizations, employers are spending money on upskilling their existing team. New emerging technologies in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Data analysis are now advanced enough to change entire job roles, and the workforce will have to adapt to new tasks and change how they bring value.
By Upskilling the workforce, the employers tend to boost the employees’ morale and get them excited about future opportunities in the Company. When employees are confident about their job security and observe a career progression in place, their contribution to the workforce greatly increases. Upskilling is a vital tool that more of today’s corporations must consider as a means to bridge rifts linked to employee engagement and remembrance.
Upskilling the Workforce Initiative
While recruiting the training providers, employers should make sure that they are good at communicating the purpose and objective of the upskilling the workforce initiative, including the particular skills that will need to be developed. Upskilling programmes not only boost the morale of the employees, but it also increases the satisfaction of customers. When workers are happy with their Company and believe in what they are doing, they do work better, increasing productivity.
Upskilling the workforce is a smaller investment than hiring and training a new worker. Moreover, if a company invests in its employees’ career development, it develops a positive mindset among the Company’s employees.
In this digitization world, it has become essential for employers to upskill their employees to enhance their Company’s prospects. Our organization Aatmnirbhar Sena realizes the importance of high tech skills in securing a job today. Although upskilling programmes in Companies are still a foreign concept, we will make every possible effort to educate employers about the benefits of upskilling their employees. As technology continues to evolve the global economy, the need for the hour to inform people about the benefits of learning required digital skills.
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana
The (PMKVY) Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana is a significant flagship skill training undertaking of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. The NSDC is the zenith body to execute this scheme. This skill certification and reward scheme aim to foster and mobilize a maximum number of youths to take up result-based skill development training to become employable resources in the market and reap their livelihood.
Under this development-oriented Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, Training & Assessment fees are fully paid by the government. The scheme also extends training to the youth with previous experience to bridge the void between their abilities and the requirements of the industries.
The scheme Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana contributes to the nation’s economic development by building a skilled workforce. Skill training would be conducted based on the (NSQF) National Skill Qualification Framework and industry-led norms.
Benefits of Upskilling Employees
We are well aware of the point that employee turnover is costly. The cost incurred on replacing an individual employee can extend from one-half to two times the yearly salary of the employee. Upskilling the workforce, or reskilling, is a wise and low-level investment than hiring and rendering training to a new worker. As you reskill by developing the potential and efficiency of your employees, you formulate a more well-balanced, cross-trained workforce and enhance the performance of your team.
The noteworthy benefits of upskilling the workforce are-
Boosting the Morale of the Employees
Employees who have undergone proper training and have several opportunities to enhance their skills and capabilities are more satisfied in their respective roles and have a more hopeful and radiant outlook on their future with the company. Upskilling your workforce would assist them in seeing the path to career progression in front of them and gets them enthusiastic about what could be their next move. Comprehending they’re striving toward something that will refine their livelihoods builds a more profound sense of purpose.
Improve Customer Satisfaction and Boost Loyalty
Happy employees are the reason behind satisfied customers. When workers get a sense of feeling that they are in a much happy state with their company and believe in where they are heading towards in their life, they perform their tasks in a better way. Additionally, upskilling grips your workforce updated with changes in the trends in the industry, enabling them to extend the best suggestions as well as insights to various prospects along with clients. Clients are agreeable to pay more to shake hands with a more competent, proactive team. Moreover, when clients are satisfied and happy with your work and services, they will become your regular customers and would always prefer you over your competitors.
Additional Benefits
Employee Retention
- No one is interested in working for an organization that is not at all concerned about upskilling the workforce.
- In every organization, employees crave to enhance their skills and nourish their potential through self-development activities and training programs for upskilling the workforce.
- Employees who face challenges in the organization are likely to remain happy.
- By making a substantial investment for the training and development programs for the growth of employees, an organization boosts the productivity and morale of the employees.
- Employees who face challenges in different forms in their lives get the opportunity to raise their level of knowledge and skills.
Fostering a Culture of Active Learning
- Inculcating a dynamic learning lifestyle will equip your company to survive and make its place amid the modern employment landscape.
- Businesses who promote training and development programs and activities nurture a culture of active learning. In this context, the approach of employees would rotate around upskilling on their initiative.
- Supporting uninterrupted learning instead of yearly training sessions will deter staff from being encumbered with the data they are less inclined to hold.
Accelerating the Productivity
- Upskilling the workforce helps in upscaling the efficiency levels of the employees, generating more notable turnaround as well as performance.
- Having extra time available, you will be transforming your teams by making them more innovative and inventive with brainstorming brand-new business plans and approaches.
- It mustn’t come as wonderment that upskilling aids to boost the productivity of your company.
- The more proficient your teams are, the less time they waste researching how to perform any individual task.
- It also implies that you can lessen costs and conserve time hunting for an expert to complete the project.
Reskilling Has Become the Priority
Recent surveys indicate that with new hiring freezes and the expansion of online platforms for learning, reskilling is a reasonable and wise option. During disruptive periods like the current COVID-19 pandemic, small and medium-sized companies in India are reexamining their workforce to assure staff and managers are organized to deal with modern business trends.
Records of employees and workers are being laid off or furloughed as most of the companies have faced the drastic impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, but many are still able to stay floating – or even prosper– during these chaotic times. As per the recent trends, business administrators in India are looking to develop their existing talent pool skills instead of hiring fresh employees. Reskilling and upskilling the workforce is the more thrifty option in comparison with the option of hiring new ones.
Upskilling – The Backbone of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan
Upskilling has emerged as the backbone of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. On May 12, 2020, PM Narendra Modi instigated the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, a revolutionary campaign aimed at making India self-reliant while combatting the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown in the entire country, the Indian economy has seen the disastrous recession of all periods. From adapting & working remotely to enhancing the workforce strategy, corporations are taking numerous measures to overcome the uncertainties. As Upskilling is the prime necessity of India to transform India as an Aatma Nirbhar Bharat, let’s go through the points that justify that Upskilling the workforce has become the need of the hour.
Encouraging Startups and Entrepreneurs
Besides Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi further introduced the ‘Vocal for Local’ campaign to assist the entrepreneurs, local manufacturers, and take them into the spotlight, and transport them to the International market.
Enrolling in industry-relevant training programs by start-ups in India will aid in bridging the gap between talent and supply and will also show the path to flourishing entrepreneurs in the Indian industry.
Meeting the Job Requirements
- The gap between industry prerequisites and academic knowledge is too wide that bridging the gap has become the need of the hour.
- The established education system furnishes more value to textbook education & theoretical understanding, which leaves students with only academic greatness and not adequate industry-relevant capabilities.
- Upskilling the workforce can assist individuals in going for the out-of-the-box ideas, earning practical knack, and becoming employable.
- Through proper training programs, the employees and young entrepreneurs would progress well in their respective career.
Finding Effective Solution to the Problem of Brain Drain
- In order to make India self-reliant and usher the nation on the path of Aatmnirbharta, we want the generation of competent professionals to stay and find the opportunities in India and contribute to its economic advancement.
- India has been striving to find relevant solutions to the problems of brain drain for a long time. Indian folks have been evacuating the nation to pursue their education in international institutions and get hired by prime corporations all over the globe.
Still, many people in India are unable to get access to top-quality education as they can’t afford the fees for the best international institutes and, thus, face difficulty in getting well-paid jobs. Equipping them for in-demand skills and needs of the industry will help them join the leading organisations across the globe with lucrative incomes and advantages. With upskilling opportunities, their potential may get utilized.
Upskilling and Reskilling will not only make the organization gear up for the looming financial hardship but will also bestow them the power to explore current possibilities for their businesses in the future course of time.
Take Away
At first glance, the task of upskilling the workforce might seem daunting to many employers. The majority of employers feel unprepared to address potential skill gaps in the workforce. However, the benefits of upskilling the workforce to new technological advancements are enormous and will increase the Company’s future potential by many folds. For employers to begin with upskilling programmes, it is essential to take a more focused approach and set their priorities right. The jobs that are expected to be affected the most by new technologies should be given priority.
Upskilling the workforce will help souls in strengthening their set of skills and also build a self-reliant India. By reskilling and upskilling the workforce, you will be formulating a troop of educated and agile employees who can effortlessly adapt to modern upgraded skills, get retrained on the job, and fix your business up for accomplishments. Aatmnirbhar Sena is also focusing on upskilling the workforce keeping in mind the upcoming challenges of the future.
Employers should assess and advise individual employees. A continuous comprehensive assessment programme will help the employees get over their fear and insecurities, helping them move to a better position towards the end of the training. The upskilling programme will be of no use if the quality and efficiency of training are not right. At Aatmnirbhar Sena, we will be training the existing employees and youths along with upskilling the workforce of the country to master the digital skills they need in this technology-driven world.
