SKILL UP – Thoughts on Skilling

Anke Sanders
Jan 28, 2020
5 min read

As a non-native speaker of English, I had to look up upskilling. It started appearing everywhere I looked, even in German-speaking articles, like Upskilling Made in Switzerland. In German, though, we have what is called Weiterbildung [lit. further education], which I have probably heard the first time at the age of 7. My mom went on a lot of trips to upskill. I remember it well – a weekend seminar here or a week-long course at an institute there. She had a desire to learn something and apply it to her job or in life. What is the hype about? Why is it that everyone is using it?

WHAT IS IN A SKILL

With that in mind, I was a bit surprised (or was I?!) that upskilling was not a word in my Merriam Webster app – my general go-to for quick linguistic inquiries –, while ironically skilless and skillessness was highlighted. I started looking for other skill-words to derive meaning and to properly understand what skilling up is all about. Here is what I found, and let’s start with the obvious:

A skill is "the ability to use one‘s knowledge effectively and readily in execution or performance." Of course, also used as a verb. But let’s not stop here. In fact, I was more surprised to see that unskill and deskill made it into Merriam while upskill has not (yet). unskill, when used as a noun describes "a lack of skill or proficiency." deskill, when used as a verb means "to reduce the level of skill needed for (a job)."

THE WHAT OF UPSKILLING

What upskilling means, is getting clearer, right? To confirm what we are thinking or believe to know, let’s ask Google (because Siri only provided me with a definition of upscaling – no matter how accurately I though I pronounced it. Oh, Siri, you’ve got a lot to learn.) Here we go, Google:

Look at that! It is being translated to what I have known for 30 years. And, my mom is an upskilling pioneer! (By the way, the Cambridge Dictionary actually has an entry for it. After all, not all tools – including dictionaries – are created equal. I wonder about the different skills of the people working for these online dictionary platforms.) Now that we know what upskilling means and how it’s used, why has it become so important over the last decade(s) and why is it one of the buzzwords that will not only make you look informed but also can help you and your organization move forward in a world full of innovation and change?

THE WHY & HOW OF UPSKILLING

The above question might hint to it: A world full of change requires that we stay abreast! Technology. Innovation. Transformation. Growth. As humans and our world evolve, so do skills and how we go about doing things. Even (or especially) if we want to be an expert in one thing and one thing only, we will always need to upskill or deskill or reskill! There will always be change and our skills will always evolve, and we simply won’t be able to escape the need to adapt. In fact, when we are part of a culture – or several – and want to broaden our way of thinking and advance, skilling in any form should be an integral part of our daily lives. I will dive deeper into this when I discuss the Who of upskilling below; yet, if we don’t play an active role, we won’t get anywhere, and the purpose of upskilling as a response to innovation becomes tainted.

"Economic historians have long understood that most of the economic benefit from many major new technologies does not come from the initial commercialization of the original invention but from the eventual implementation.” (James Besson, Learning by Doing: The Real Connection between Innovation, Wages, and Wealth). (Up)skilling, therefore, is what it takes to properly implement or adopt new processes, technologies or alike to make businesses thrive and impact ROI. Of course, this doesn’t just happen on its own and it can be a bumpy ride with a bunch of potholes and roadblocks. For example, the way we think about skills and learning: We have yet to figure out how to best train new or untrain “outdated” skills – especially in this digital age –, how to integrate (up)skilling in the flow of work or even the flow of life and how to make it a part of each employee’s individual learning journey and overall experience.

THE WHEN OF UPSKILLING

There are plenty of articles and approaches out there already, but generally upskilling is not new. The problems (or roadblocks) are not new. They just come at us in disguise and we are struggling to articulate clearly how to face them. In order to solve how to skill up (or down), we need to figure out what skills actually mean to us, determine their relevancy, and understand how we use them. Any form of skilling is a response to an imbalance; for example, a lack of skilled workers or an increased need for a new skill that is likely to be adopted. I know I am just scratching the surface here, and I am inviting you to agree or disagree. Yet, technology, is probably the strongest drive in this upskilling crisis/hype/experience/journey and that may simply be due to the fact that we live in a fast, largely globalized and, let’s face it, very exciting time and space. Skilling needs are increasing as I type – I probably should have already de-skilled my typing skills and up-skilled and learned how to use that dictation app to save time! Or is that an example of reskilling?! Anyways, the world won’t stop spinning, so, let’s skill up!

THE WHO & WHERE OF UPSKILLING

This actually brings me to the next and, to me, the most important part of this article. Who is responsible for upskilling or skills development in general? Is it schools and educational institutions? Innovators? Managers or leadership? Should it be a primary goal of an L&D Department – if you are lucky enough to have one? Or is it actually up to one person, and one person only: You?! In my mind, there is no doubt that skilling is a shared responsibility. A well-organized L&D department might navigate the ship, or it could be good management or leadership, but in the end, it is truly a matter of each and every one of us. And many have begun to take part in this and actively seek to skill up. It just needs to start somewhere and that is likely an invisible, somewhat wishy-washy space: our minds. This is the place where we shape ideas, form connections, think and try to understand what is going on and where we are headed.

FINAL REMARKS & INFOGRAPHIC

Upskilling happens when we adopt a mindset for growth and learning that is autonomous and self-directed, yet embedded in a culture that supports it; driven by innovation and change. Our organizational structures and pillars can and should help us identify areas in which we lack skills or are under- or über-developed, but when we adopt a mindset for learning and accept the responsibility then we will be able to connect and weave it all together, react quickly, and adjust curricula and content as we need it in a collaborative effort. We all need to be willing to learn and develop a sense of mindfulness or awareness, come together as a learning community, and grow and develop this together. We are in the driver’s seat and we can shape and guide our experience.

The beautiful thing with all those changes around us is that we are not alone. We are all trying to figure it out. (Up)skilling is part of our learning journeys. Organizations benefit from learning, individuals do too, and so does culture. In theory, it sounds simple to me: Be mindful and aware of gaps and opportunities for continuous learning in the flow of work and life. Stay on it, stay with it, be responsible and find a way to make it meaningful and fit it in.