Teachers' Day 2023 | Is all upskilling equally good? Who is upskilling, and in what areas?

Analytical thinking is among the most popular courses for upskilling/reskilling currently. (Photo by Antoni Shkraba via Pexels)

Upskill. Reskill. If not, on a bad day, you will get a pink slip. On the worst day, you will be pushed off the job cliff. Or become absolutely obsolete. That’s the new pep talk in every boardroom, meeting room, in workforce canteens and – at a lower decibel level – in the crowd waiting in long queues for a job. Globally, upskilling is the most uttered word in the workforce lexicon.

But what really is upskilling? In simple words, it is the process of individuals learning new skills. To be sure, the idea of learning new skills or upgrading the ones you have now itself isn't new - philosophers, scientists, corporate leaders have all time and again avowed the benefits of being lifelong learners. Yet continuing globalization, huge demographic changes, advances in technology and new regulations have disrupted operating models, have giving reskilling and upskilling a breadth and an urgency that feels new.

Doubting Cassandras say upskilling is a fad, and say - to borrow from William Shakespeare - it’s all sound and fury, signifying nothing. But the statistics are staggering and stacked against them. By 2027, 43 percent of work tasks will be automated and 6 in every 10 workers will have to upskill. On average, around 40 percent of workers will require reskilling of six months or less. Nearly 94 percent of business leaders report that they expect employees to pick up new skills on the job, up from 65 percent in 2018, according to World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2020.

Upskilling is more than modernizing the workforce for new/changing jobs. According to one estimate, the market size of this global industry is more than $370 billion, with companies spending an average of $1,300 per employee each year on various continuing education activities. Recent economic analysis by Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) and the World Economic Forum showed that upskilling could add US$6.5 trillion to the worlds gross domestic product (GDP) and create 5.3 million net new jobs.

India will soon become a US$ 313 billion online education market, according to the Investing for Impact: Education, Skills and EdTech report. Hawk-eyed angels are investing in this sector and companies are devoting a piece of the pie to modernize their workforce – Amazon, for example, has committed over $700 million to its Upskilling 2025 program, an internal training initiative to promote customer satisfaction and worker advancement.

And these are not mere numbers. The upskilling buzz and the need to stay job-relevant is evident around us. India, certainly, isn’t lagging behind. According to Great Learning’s Upskilling Trends Report 2023 – India Edition, 42 percent of professionals in India upskilled to secure a new job, while 25 percent aimed to achieve career growth within their current organization. Notably, 24 percent of Indians pursued upskilling for personal interest, a trend commonly seen in mature markets like the United States.

What are people studying, and how do they make the time?

To upskill, majority of the people learnt for 1-3 hours per day, Saturdays and Sundays were the most preferred days for upskilling and most of the learners were actively learning between 9-10 pm, the Great Learning report added.

In 2022, IT/ITES (Information Technology/Information Technology Enabled Services) and BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance) were the top sectors where professionals upskilled, followed by Manufacturing, Educational Services and Pharma.

Globally, countless EdTech start-ups and universities are offering several upskilling programs with analytical thinking being on the top of in-demand emerging skills, followed by complex problem-solving, active learning and learning strategies, critical thinking and analysis.

Upskilling helps, but it does not enable everyone equally. Hoisting an 'upskilled' certificate is not enough, it is personal attributes that matter. Upskilling is also about choice and opportunity: what role(s) does one seek to play in the profession/industry and what competencies are required?

But does upskilling invariably hasten one’s steps up the corporate ladder? Pragya Agarwal, an ex-HR professional in a multi-national bank, says that in the typical 70:20:10 learning model, upskilling is only 10 percent of all learning which is much lower than 70 percent of learning that comes from experience, experiment and reflection and 20 percent derived from working with others.

“Of course, upskilling helps, but it does not enable everyone equally. Hoisting an 'upskilled' certificate is not enough, it is personal attributes that matter. Upskilling is also about choice and opportunity - what role(s) does one seek to play in the profession/industry and what competencies are required? In simple words, the ratio of how much of what you have learnt to how much you can apply it in the working world will ensure how relevant you will stay,” says Agarwal who has worked in India and Malaysia.

How to choose

But how does one choose from the plethora of courses, modules, workshops, masterclasses, seminars, etc., being offered for learning by formal intervention?

“In any given situation, it will vary depending on the work environment and the organizational results required. The highest priority for skills training from 2023-27 is analytical thinking, which is set to account for 10 percent of training initiatives, on average.

"Artificial intelligence and big data will be prioritized by 42 percent of companies, and employers also plan to focus on developing worker’s skills in leadership and social influence; resilience, flexibility and agility; and curiosity and lifelong learning (30 percent),”adds Agarwal.

Tangled in the emerging skills debate, the online vs offline and paid vs free conversation begins. Asitima (who uses only her first name) has eight years of work experience in the development sector and says that she already feels obsolete, and upskilling is her top priority. “I prefer online courses that offer enough flexibility but perhaps the hybrid module is the best – you get the best of both the worlds,” says Asitima who has worked on two continents.

But will she spend on upskilling? “In the corporate sector, companies pick a cohort of talent for upskilling, pay for the courses with, on average, a bond of two years. However, I am not ready to pay from my pocket. Worldwide, the best universities, including big names like Harvard and Stanford, are offering free courses that serve my purpose. Why spend money if you can get a Harvard upskilling tag for free?” adds Asitima.

Upskilling has countless variables, and cuts across all verticals. Beyond the din of the corporate upskilling buzz, in a quiet corner of Bengaluru, Ayushi Sinha, co-founder at Alippo Learning, is offering affordable upskilling courses, enabling women to study, grow, and even kickstart their own home-based businesses from the comfort of their homes.

“Our focus is on tangible outcomes – we’ve cultivated a unique learning ecosystem that imparts knowledge and encourages users to apply their newfound skills to develop thriving businesses. We have a community of 300,000 women and more than 1,300 Alippo women have started their business,” says Sinha who adds that their growth story has been significantly influenced by Google Play that has played a pivotal role in fostering their online community.

We live in a world where disruption is now the norm and where new jobs with new skills (and) requirements are quickly replacing traditional roles. As the pace of disruption accelerates, the half life of skills gets shorter.

The world is witnessing an Upskilling/Reskilling revolution and many have joined the bandwagon. In 2020, the World Economic Forum launched the Reskilling Revolution that aims to empower one billion people with better education, skills and economic opportunity by 2030. So far, 102 million people have benefited from the WEF's Reskilling Revolution platform.

To meet the burgeoning upskilling demands, Ernst & Young (EY) set up an EY Skills Foundry, a platform that delivers an adaptive workforce. The government of India set up NSDC (National Skills Development Corporation) to fulfil the growing need in India for skilled manpower across sectors and narrow the existing gap between the demand and supply of skills.

Should everyone upskill? Perhaps. Michael Bertolino, EY Global Skills Foundry Leader, says. “We live in a world where disruption is now the norm and where new jobs with new skills (and) requirements are quickly replacing traditional roles. As the pace of disruption accelerates, the half-life of skills gets shorter. There is a gulf between the skills that workers have today and those they need for tomorrow; and this leaves business with a stark but simple choice – either adapt fast or become obsolete.”