Upskilling vs. Reskilling: Two Paths for Career Growth

Upskilling and reskilling have become synonymous with career development in 2024. These buzzwords are not just trends for this current job market but essential approaches to ensure you have control over your career. Both methods give individuals the opportunity to learn new skills and to sharpen current skill sets, however they have different impacts on the trajectory of your career.

Upskilling 

Upskilling involves learning new skills or improving existing ones to advance yourself in your current role or field. For example, a project coordinator completing a certification in project management or a software engineer learning a newer language like Go(lang) or Rust.

Its purpose is to increase your expertise allowing you to stay competitive within your industry and job function. This involves learning technologies or tools that are new to your industry or company, or becoming a subject matter expert that is highly specialized in an essential area of business. Upskilling is necessary in industries such as technology, medicine, finance, and marketing where continuous learning is necessary in order to adapt to technological advancements and evolving best practices.

This path to career development requires a more focused approach to learning. Specialized courses, certifications, and workshops provided by online learning platforms or traditional formal educational institutions are great resources to achieve your learning goals. Additionally, some organizations offer on-the-job learning and mentorship programs that provide employees with the opportunity to develop and grow skills and knowledge.

Reskilling

If your goal is to change your career, job function, or switch industries then reskilling may be a better choice for you. For example, a teacher learning how to code so they can find a job in software development or a retail worker taking accounting courses to transition into bookkeeping.

Reskilling requires individuals to broaden their set of skills and knowledge. A more significant change has to be made than upskilling in order to be successful. This change can happen at any point in a person's career whether they are new to the job market or already settled in their career. This type of career move can require a longer commitment to learning and more involvement than upskilling. However, the resources and tools are similar in achieving your desired outcome - online or post secondary course or diplomas, bootcamps, certifications, and internships. 

The Right Fit For Your Career

Determining which method is best for you is dependent on what your long term career goals are. Both upskilling and reskilling require an individual taking the initiative to grow and learn in order to gain access to different opportunities, however the paths taken will determine whether they end up in a current or different job function.

Some important questions to ask yourself when deciding which route take are:

Do you want to stay within your industry and/or job function? If yes, upskill. If not, reskill.

Do you currently possess the skills and knowledge required for your desired career or job function? If yes, upskill. If not, reskill.

The Benefits

The mainstreaming of upskilling and reskilling is positive for the job market both on a macro and micro level. Individuals having access to these methods are able to take control of their futures, they do not need to feel stuck or limited within their current roles or careers providing them with more opportunities and pathways to fulfilling employment. Companies are able to empower their employees to gain knowledge not only for themselves but for the organization, developing their organizational intelligence and retaining highly qualified talent. The job market benefits by bridging the skills gap between the knowledge and skills needed in the market versus the competencies available within the talent pool.