For a long time, reskilling and upskilling were mainly used in Anglo-Saxon corporate cultures and tech circles. In the past 18 months or so, they became common. Various specialist magazines dealt with this in detail over the past few months:

  1. Upskilling and reskilling stand for forward-looking, systematic forms of further training. They are gaining in importance in connection with digitization, agility and globalization.
  2. As a result of the pandemic, continuing education has become digital. Since face-to-face events were canceled, almost all types of qualifications were translated into online formats. Informal learning also increased. The trend is clearly towards blended learning.
  3. Digitization is also shaping the current demand for learning content. In addition to technical skills such as data literacy and data analytics, employees primarily need collaborative and communicative skills.
  4. Almost all companies use digital learning tools. However, SMEs in particular do not always do this in a targeted and integrated manner. This would require predictive competence or gap analyzes and cross-platform technical systems.
  5. Reskilling and upskilling are usually more economical than recruiting. In addition, the motivation of the learners increases and the working atmosphere improves. With specialists, however, there is seldom a way to avoid new hires.
  6. Systematic reskilling and upskilling can strengthen the internal position of HR; especially when operational action plans are derived from strategic workforce planning.