What Is an Example of Reskilling?

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? For many of us, the jobs we dreamt of as kids are different from the ones we have today. And that’s natural—as we grow and change, we discover new interests, hobbies, and passions, which can lead us down career paths we may never have foreseen for ourselves in our younger days.

The same is true for many in adulthood. You may have studied one thing in school, only to end up working in a completely different field a decade on. And that’s likely due to reskilling (different than employee upskilling)—the act of learning new skills that enable you to one day move into a different job than the one you know how to do today. 

Advancing current skills—and developing new ones—is an imperative in today’s world of work. In fact, according to a study by VOX/Atomik, more than half of workers (52%) indicate they must continue their education in order to remain competitive in the modern workforce.

There are many upskilling and reskilling examples, but let's just focus on reskilling below.

What does reskilling the workforce mean?

When a company reskills its workforce, it teaches employees new skills to prepare them to move into different roles in the company. This is different from upskilling, wherein employees learn skills that help them advance in their current positions.

Reskilling meaning: Reskilling is the process through which a person gains new skills, competencies, and knowledge that allow them to move into a new career path 

Some employees will undertake the initiative to reskill on their own, having identified a new career path they want to pursue. An example of this would be a retail associate who studies online for a bachelor’s degree in marketing and moves into a communications role after graduating. 

Reskilling can also be driven by an employer. Think, for example, of a manufacturing company that automates some tasks that were once performed by people. Instead of letting those employees go, the company may retrain them to take on specialized and harder-to-fill positions in the company.   

What is an example of reskilling?

When someone trains to move from one career into another, they’re reskilling. Here are some reskilling examples for employees that show the many different forms this can take: 

• A landscaper, struggling with the physical toll of his work, signs up for a bootcamp to transition into a job as a software developer.
• A financial planner who feels stagnant working a desk job teaches herself how to do carpentry through online videos, forums, and a hands-on apprenticeship. 
• A classroom teacher gets a master’s degree in online instruction and gets a new job as an instructional designer for an educational technology company.

Those are all examples of reskilling driven by individual employees, but what is an example of reskilling in business? Here are some examples of employer-driven reskilling:

• A hospital system offers a leadership development program that trains clinical staff to move into managerial and administrative roles. 
• A restaurant group that’s expanding into weddings and corporate events cross-trains interested front-of-house staff on event planning and management, moving them into new roles on the events side of the business. 
• A large tech company that has trouble filling cybersecurity roles covers tuition costs for hourly employees to study cybersecurity. As they hit educational milestones, these employees move up a pathway that culminates in a full-time cybersecurity role. 

Why reskilling is important

There are several reasons why reskilling is important. For one, it allows employees to match the work they do to their changing interests and passions. 

For another, it allows companies to be flexible and nimble by training existing employees to move into different roles as their talent needs change—a good thing for employers, since hiring from within the company is typically more cost effective than recruiting externally.

How do you reskill an employee?

How does an organization go about reskilling its workforce? And how do you reskill a job so employees can develop new skills to move into new roles?  

To start, an organization needs to audit the skills its workforce has today. Once skills gaps are identified, a plan can be put in place to train employees on those missing skills. This may include anything from cross-training to hands-on apprenticeships to tuition assistance or benefits that allow employees to pursue education in the areas of need for the business.

Conclusion 

Another upside of reskilling? It helps employees feel valued—and more loyal to their employers. According to the SEI 2024 Consumer Survey, nearly half of employees say they are motivated to stay with an employer that supports continued education or the opportunities to cross-train/explore other areas of interest at work.

Want to explore how reskilling can help you retain your own workforce? Let’s talk.