The Upskilling Imperative Book Summary - The Upskilling Imperative Book explained in key points

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The Upskilling Imperative summary

Name: The Upskilling Imperative
Rating: 4.3 (105 reviews)
Author: Shelley Osborne

Shelley Osborne

5 Ways to Make Learning Core to the Way We Work

4.3 (105 ratings)

16 mins

Brief summary

The Upskilling Imperative by Shelley Osborne is a guide to help organizations create a culture of learning. It emphasizes the importance of upskilling employees and providing them with the resources needed to stay current in a rapidly changing job market.

Topics

Leadership Learning Work Culture

Table of Contents

The Upskilling Imperative
Summary of 8 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 8

What’s in it for me? Adapt to changes in your industry by learning the skills of the future.

Most people would agree that technology is moving faster than ever. A rising number of jobs are now automated, and the skills needed for many of the remaining positions are becoming obsolete. Other fields are changing so fast that very few people will be expected to do the same work throughout their professional careers.

While some companies are taking decisive steps to combat these developments, others are barely treading water. In these blinks, you’ll find practical steps to keep your business afloat. Discover how to establish and nurture a learning culture at your company, and see why the return on investment in upskilling is so much more than just financial reward.

In these blinks, you’ll learn

why learning initiatives need to be an integrated part of the job;
how to cultivate a positive relationship with constructive feedback; and
why the author stopped using overhead projectors.

A robust learning culture can help companies retain staff and keep up with new technologies.

Starting a career used to mean going to school, getting a job, and then continuing on the same path until retirement. You’d learn the skills you needed to work in your desired field, and then that was it – smooth sailing for the next 40 years.

Of course, these days that’s not enough. For one thing, young people joining the workforce today are likely to continue working for the next five decades, which is far longer than previous generations.

On top of that, rapidly changing technologies mean that most skills only stay relevant for five years. In such an environment, how can you make sure that you, or your company, don’t become as obsolete as a 1990s floppy disk?

The key message is: A robust learning culture can help companies retain staff and keep up with new technologies.

Most people don’t have positive associations with workplace training. Either a bad performance review means it’s required by HR, or it’s something only offered to high performers. Training programs are marked by passive learning, outdated methods, and a one-size-fits-all approach. In other words, they’re boring.

Another reason that workplace training hasn’t always been a top priority for businesses is that the outcomes and measurable results can be unclear; senior executives often just see it as a box to check rather than a beneficial investment. But that’s all changing. More people are realizing that adaptability is needed to maintain a career, or business, into the future. That’s why it’s vital that employers and employees find ways to bring relevant, dynamic, and sustainable learning – or upskilling – into their mindset.

According to a survey by online learning company Udemy, 39 percent of US workers feel that the skills gap has had a direct impact on their careers. And 51 percent of employees say they’d quit a job if the company didn’t provide enough training. By integrating continuous learning and development into your business, you can avoid the endless loop of falling behind and then playing catch-up.

Instead of reinventing the wheel every few years, it’s time to design effective, on-demand, and relevant training that anticipates and prepares for the changes that are coming.

Draw on teachers’ tactics and you’ll be able to build a better workplace learning practice.

Think back to high school. You and your classmates sit down at your desks, and your teacher rolls out that warhorse of math class: the overhead projector. The lights dim, and for the next 60 minutes, you silently endure a series of equations meticulously written out with dry-erase markers. The content is interesting to some of your peers, but your sleepiness gets the best of you.

Maybe you learned something in that class, but do you remember it now? Do you fondly look back on that learning experience and think it really made math come alive?

Embrace change and adaptability to cultivate agile learners within your organization.

We’re sentimental creatures, and change can be frightening. If you’re like most people, there are probably some things in your home that were once important but are now rarely, or never, used. Your VCR, for example, is becoming harder and harder to justify keeping – not because you don’t watch movies anymore, but because you watch them differently.

We face a similar predicament with skills. In five or ten years, many of us will have jobs that don’t exist today. But in wanting to squeeze out every bit of usefulness from our existing competencies, we’re missing opportunities to change and adapt to the new developments happening right now.

Establishing a feedback culture is essential to achieving learning goals.

Have you ever received a piece of criticism, thought to yourself, Well, that was a bit harsh, and walked away with hurt feelings? Or have you ever sugarcoated someone’s request for honest feedback, keeping your real thoughts to yourself? All too often, people associate feedback with criticism – and criticism with unpleasant experiences.

But you don’t have to choose between being too nice or upsetting someone; in the middle lies an opportunity for growth and improvement. Routine, constructive, two-way feedback holds the key to successful learning and professional growth.

Use marketing tactics to generate employee excitement around learning.

When a big-budget blockbuster movie comes out, it isn’t a secret affair; it creates buzz. In the months and weeks leading up to its release in cinemas, you see trailers, billboards, and magazine ads. The lead actors embark on a grueling schedule of late-night talk shows, publicity events, and photo shoots. By the time the movie hits theaters, everybody already knows about it. It’s not a matter of if they’ll go see it, but when.

Of course, that’s all well and good for the box office. But how can you generate similar excitement around your employees and their ongoing learning? Is it even possible to drum up the same buzz that Titanic got for your company’s latest professional development workshop?

Learning is most accessible when it’s smoothly integrated into your daily work.

Each year, on January 1, people around the world declare New Year’s resolutions. Hopeful that this year will be “the year,” some vow to lose weight or learn a new language – but most of these resolutions fizzle out before they even get going.

By early February, excuses for quitting are everywhere as the former optimists announce that there’s just not enough time in the day to get it all done. By March, most resolutions are on the brink of extinction; it’s difficult to make time for something that isn’t a regular part of your day.

Managers need to demonstrate and promote the value of learning to business.

You’ve seen how to implement a learning culture in an organization, but what do you do when not everyone is convinced of its value?

According to consulting firm McKinsey, 75 percent of executives think they’ll be able to fulfill more than half the skills required in the future through internal upskilling rather than new hires. But despite this data in support of reskilling, many companies have yet to make an effort to develop a learning culture.

Use the numbers to make a convincing business case for Learning and Development investments.

Imagine you’re just leaving a meeting with your colleagues at the Learning and Development department. The goal? To convince the CEO to grant sign-off on a robust, new learning culture that will change the way employees interact with learning and stay on top of the latest trends.

You’re on your way to the CEO’s office with plans to lay out the benefits of the program, and you know this is your last chance; she was skeptical last time, and it’s unlikely she’ll budge this time around. How do you persuade her that your plan really is in the company’s best interests?

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What is The Upskilling Imperative about?

What’s it about?

The Upskilling Imperative (2020) introduces practical tips for companies to ensure their staff have ample opportunity to learn skills for the future. With industries and technologies changing all the time, it shows business leaders the steps they can take to stay ahead of the curve and establish robust, accessible learning environments.

The Upskilling Imperative Review

The Upskilling Imperative (2021) is an essential read for anyone interested in personal and professional growth. Here's why this book stands out:

It provides practical strategies and tools to enhance our skills and thrive in the ever-evolving job market.
Backed by research and real-life examples, the book offers insights into the importance of continuous learning for staying relevant and competitive.
With its engaging storytelling and relatable anecdotes, the book manages to make the topic of upskilling both interesting and inspiring.

Who should read The Upskilling Imperative?

Who’s it for?

Managers or C-Level executives looking to upskill their teams
People interested in Learning and Development or HR

Employees who want to change the way their company views training

About the Author

About the author

As the Vice President of Learning at Udemy, Shelley Osborne is responsible for upskilling employees around the world. Before joining Udemy to develop the company’s corporate learning strategy, Osborne served as the Vice President of Learning and Development at Farside HR Solutions. She has given talks at TEDWomen events and contributed commentary to CNBC and the Wall Street Journal. The Upskilling Imperative is her first book.

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