Upskilling (Re)volution
The new economy has already been designed. It’s now our time to adapt in response to the continuously emerging and shifting needs of our community.
During times of uncertainty, whether due to a pandemic or a market crash, unemployment rates skyrocket. That’s no secret. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, circa 10 million people have filed for unemployment in the past two weeks alone. Suddenly, there is an oversupply of human capital in one industry and a talent shortage in another. Even the requirements and expectations for the existing roles are changing exponentially.
In an ideal world, if we could flexibly and accordingly allocate each industry with the right human capital, then most crises wouldn’t have a significant impact on the job market and, ultimately, the economy. But the main question is: How do you upskill, reskill, and reshuffle talent?
With technology invading every aspect of our personal and professional lives, it’s become more essential than ever for people to possess both technological and interpersonal skills. The idea of robotics and automation taking over legacy sectors, such as logistics and healthcare, was once feared. With the current COVID-19 pandemic, I think we could all agree that these innovations would have been comforting and life saving; especially for our warriors on the frontlines of hospitals and grocery stores. But if we let technology take over so many of our roles, then what would happen to the workers displaced from such disruption?
There’s been some conflation between Upskilling and Reskilling. So what’s the difference? Upskilling is about learning new competencies to grow in a current role while Reskilling is about learning a whole new set of skills to transition to a completely new role. Although different, both can be used as tools to maintain the harmony of the job market and our place in it.
First, the Technology
Currently, the survival of many organizations, across all industries, depends on their ability to leverage cutting-edge technology to transform their workplaces into virtual and augmented environments. Amongst other things, the technology may include Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, and teleworking software.
This virtual infrastructure would require an adept understanding of, and comfort with, a continuously advancing caliber of technology. Most organizations and governments dedicate a specific expert team to develop and implement such infrastructure.
But we’re missing a crucial component here. With the technology infrastructure evolving at an exponential rate, especially during crises, wouldn’t employees’ skillsets also need to adapt to make the best out of these advances? How would we deploy the same technology to advance our talent? On the other hand, if we can’t upskill our human capital, or if the respective roles become obsolete, how can we transfer workers to other career paths?
Second, the People
At this point, you might be thinking “well, this is pretty feasible for a small group of people, maybe even for a single organization, but there’s just no way you can reskill / upskill entire industries and markets”. I acknowledge that this isn’t a straightforward path, but there is a way we can compound our efforts by linking our technology to our talent.
In a highly globalized and digitized economy, by leveraging big data analytics and distributed ledger technology, we can efficiently and transparently create individualized career paths for workers. These are better known as job transition pathways and, when created for a critical mass of workers, can foster a network of potential career journeys for — eventually — everyone. Even you and me.
Once we start understanding the potential of this approach, it’s natural for us to worry. What if the pathways direct us to lower paying jobs? Obviously, nobody wants this to happen. While some job transition options may initially be associated with pay cuts, the purpose of this approach is to ensure that those initial transitions pave the way to rewarding careers later on. As a result, aiming for long-term career gains, after a short-term displacement, becomes an additional path for workers with few desirable immediate job options.
This approach has major implications not just for the individuals under risk of displacement, but also for organizations and policymakers looking to deploy reskilling / upskilling resources in the most targeted and efficient way possible. We haven’t even touched on how this technology would shape the way we develop and channel lifelong learning initiatives and offerings. The entire education technology landscape would be disrupted, but for the better.
Leveraging the power of big data analytics and blockchain, a globalized and digitized network of job transition pathways can enable companies and governments to prioritize their reskilling / upskilling investments to guide workers towards more fulfilling careers within a more sustainable economy.
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