In a rapidly evolving economy, businesses are recognizing how important it is to keep up with technology and the way we do business. Executives and leaders need their employees to pivot on existing skills as well as add a repertoire of new skill sets.

In January 2020, the World Economic Forum launched the “Reskilling Revolution” with the initiative to provide one billion people with better education, skills, and jobs by 2030. Some of the founding businesses of this reskilling revolution include: Adecco, JPMorgan Chase, Amazon, LinkedIn, PwC, and SalesForce. At a company level, Amazon is investing $700 million to provide upskilling training to their employees while PwC has committed $3 billion to upskill all 275,000 of its employees over the next three to four years. Appropriately, the mantra of this program is: “New World, New Skills.”  

The best way to describe upskilling from an employee perspective is teaching new skills and expanding on capabilities. It is important to keep in mind that upskilling is not about adding new skills to do incremental work. It is more often about finding ways to do the same work or processes in a way that can add value. It is also about adding new skill sets that can lead to new opportunities for growth and promotions within an organization. 

Clearly, executives at leading companies see the critical need for upskilling but how do employees feel about the concept? According to the Wharton School of Business, a recent study showed that 97% of employees want to expand or at least continue the amount of time they spend learning. Another study by LinkedIn showed that 94% of employees said they would stay at a company longer if the company invested in their career. At a time when employee turnover is a big issue, investing in training can lead to a big return for both employers and employees. 

Upskilling and professional development is not just for large businesses with huge training budgets. Training can come in many different forms and should be a priority for Fortune 500 companies, sole proprietorships, and everything in between. Leaders such as CFOs and controllers should make professional development a top priority for their accounting teams. Employees should show initiative for learning and embrace developing new skills. They should never be afraid to ask for training. It is always beneficial to explain why a specific training will add value to their role or to the organization. 

For a more detailed conversation on the importance of professional development and upskilling, you can check out our podcast episode on this topic and earn 1 hour of free CPE. Click on any of the links below to listen! 

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