Reskill Or Upskill? Could Improving Your Employees Skills Help With Shortages In Your Business?

Many businesses may have found that their positions and practices have required a rethink. You might have noticed that your business is now situated in a more digitised environment, or that your employees’ roles and responsibilities have had to change and adapt to accommodate new norms. There’s a growing need for skilled individuals to step into these changed roles, but that doesn’t mean that you should neglect the employees that you already have.

Your employees are your greatest resource, and putting the time and effort into ensuring that they can perform their roles can result in excellent productivity and capabilities. Your focus should be on reskilling or upskilling your employees. No longer is it just a recommendation for your employees to be multiskilled – it’s more of a necessity than ever before.

Reskilling and upskilling can occur through three methods:

• Through formal learning, such as that conducted while at university or TAFE (higher learning, certifications, etc).
• Via non-formal learning (such as learning activities that do not result in a certification, but equip you with skills).
• Informal learning (learning processes and skills to help their tasks from colleagues, supervisors, etc).

This can then result in either viable transitions in employment, or desirable transitions that further their career pathways. Essentially, a viable job transition involves the movement from one job to another that is highly similar (in terms of required knowledge, skills, abilities, work activities, education levels and experience). A desirable transition however results in higher wages in a field of work that is expanding, rather than declining (in the IT or digital-based industries, for example).

There are many schemes available to employees and employers that can assist in upskilling. Employees may look into:

• Fee-free courses (such as those that are TAFE or university endorsed)
• Online workshops
• Short courses
• Certification (such as first aid or RSA)

If you are an employer looking to reskill or upskill your employees, some of the more popular options to boost your employees’ skillsets include computer skills, digital upskilling and learning how to code.

There may also be options for employers to access funding schemes, which can be provided by the government.

Most of the options available for upskilling or reskilling employees, particularly if provided by employers could be a tax deduction that they (the employer) can offset as a tax deduction. If you wish to learn more about how reskilling your employees can be a tax-deductible offset, speak with us. We can also assist you in other business planning enquiries.