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Upskilling current employees is a must. It is now considered a necessity in all leading companies who plan to keep and increase their market share."> Back
Prepare for the Future of Work – When to Upskill and When to Recruit
February 24, 2021

The business world is currently amidst significant change and much confusion. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is happening now. Whether or not your company is preparing to tackle the changes due to the pandemic's current hurdles, other companies are taking full advantage. To stay competitive and come out on the winning side, your company needs to take the steps required to harness the digital transformation's new power and potential profit. How do you prepare for the future of work? Upskill and recruit. Give your business its best shot of recovering and  thriving  after the financial hardships that accompanied COVID-19.  

Upskilling current employees is a must. It is now considered a necessity in all leading companies who plan to keep and increase their market share. To counter the skill gaps created by technological advances and digital transformation, current employees must upskill to stay competitive. Employers should prioritize investment in employee upskilling to best prepare for the future of work and keep up with the competition that is making great forward strides to adapt to the latest technology and upskill their workforces to use it.  

As a general rule, businesses want to recruit when there is an excess supply of good candidates. Additionally, to recruit most effectively, it is advantageous to be recruiting "when your competition is not actively trying to recruit the same people you are" [1]. Here, businesses and H.R. professionals encounter their first hurdles for recruiting in 2021. Even before the pandemic, a severe skill gap was developing. 83% of H.R. professionals had difficulties recruiting suitable candidates for jobs [2]. Studies show that skilled labor demands are rising fast and require more people with STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) educational backgrounds than are currently being taught [3]. A survey by the "Manpower Group,” a job placement firm, describes the gap: 

It is clear that the skill gaps are partially responsible for the lack of candidates to fill the 6,514,333 million jobs that are open as of January 21, 2021 [5]; however, the market isn't just lacking skills; it lacks workers. Business "leaders note the lack of available workers as one of their greatest challenges" [6]. "The rate of workforce growth has declined sharply—falling almost 75 percent over the past decade. As the baby-boom generation retires, masses of highly skilled workers are leaving the workforce" [7]. The challenge this faces to recruiting is that it goes against the basic tenants of advantage recruiting. There are few qualified candidates, and right now, every company is competing to hiring the ones available. There is a historically proven way to reverse the labor shortage in highly skilled sectors, but businesses will not like it! The answer is: increase pay and benefits. An example where this labor shortage reversal occurred is "when the nursing shortage began driving up wages a decade ago, [subsequently] more students entered the profession" [8]. High wages for all employees, even entry-level skilled employees, will incentivize the future workforce to follow career paths with the most return on education investment. It will also influence the current talent to accept positions at companies making the best offers now.  

Highly skilled candidates already expect a high salary, but many employees across the board now also "expect on-the-job-training and opportunities for career development" [9]. Millennials are entering the workforce as the baby-boomers reach retirement age, and delivering on the expectation of training and career development opportunities is a huge competitive advantage. "According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2020, 50% of the U.S. workforce [was] expected to be made up of Millennials. By 2030, it's predicted to be 75%. Recent data on this demographic indicates that on-the-job training — even more than salary, workplace flexibility, company culture, or other organizational perks — is the decisive factor for Millennials in accepting a position and remaining with a company" [10].  

Your company should prepare to recruit top talent with high pay incentives, excellent benefits, superior company culture which embraces flexibility and supports career development with upskilling. However, suppose your company is unable to provide an industry-leading salary. In that case, it should work on the rest of the recruitment drivers and opt to hire a candidate who does not meet the bill exactly but makes up for lack of skills with a passion for learning, culture fit, desire to succeed, and is willing to be trained to prepare for success in the position. Doing this can open up the candidate pool massively and end up cultivating loyal and skilled employees.  

The main takeaway is: always upskill even when recruiting.  

How to Launch an Online Learning Platform to Upskill Your Employees Quickly and Effectively? 

Upskilling is required to make the most of your recruiting efforts and maximize your current employees' abilities to drive productivity and increase revenue. Introducing a comprehensive and valuable upskilling program can be a daunting task for a company to take on, on its own. It is not worth the investment for companies to create an in-house program and typically will not result in the best outcome when training.  

The ideal solution? Provide upskilling to your employees by sourcing a company specializing in creating custom online learning platforms that meet your company's unique needs. Partnering with an online learning platform that creates custom-branded learning environments and courses that meet your company's unique upskilling needs is the path to success. A platform with a turn-key system that your company can start using now can be a substantial competitive advantage.  

Key elements of an online learning platform that will add value to your business upskilling efforts include: 

  • Turn-key systems capable of immediate implementation with no learning curve
  • Intuitive and engaging delivery methods to keep employee retention high and invested in learning
  • Custom branded platform and content to create brand loyalty
  • Ready-to-go content curated by experts meeting industry best practices, and are relevant to job needs right now 

Upskilling is an integral part of business best practices today. Get the most out of your new recruits and current employees by embracing upskilling at your company today. Your bottom line and your employees will thank you – resulting in increased profitability and heightened workplace satisfaction.  

Amesite Offers a Single, Easy to Use, Scalable Solution 

Launch an online learning system that helps your business develop new employees, upskill current employees and cultivate a strong culture of loyalty, productivity, and growth within your company! 

Amesite is a high-tech AI-powered online learning platform. We specialize in scalable, custom branded online learning environments and content curation to meet employer's unique needs to support the business's upskilling efforts.     

Amesite's online learning platform is the key to upskilling your workforces. Amesite's high-tech AI-powered online learning environment is custom-branded to each specific company to meet the unique needs of the employer and their employees. We have subject matter experts who design innovative and custom content for courses that provide excellent value to your employees. A host of self-paced, highly engaging, and intuitive courses can be ready for your company in as little as 30 days.   

Want an example? Amesite provided Ford Motor Company's employees with an online environment to upskill. "Our successful pilot with a diverse, global cohort of full-time professionals at Ford showed that the online learning delivered on our AI-driven platform was convenient and beneficial," said Amesite Founder and CEO Dr. Ann Marie Sastry. "A survey of participants showed that their interest in subject matter deepened, that the fresh content delivered via Amesite's A.I. helped them relate the course material to real-world events and that the quality of customer service and instruction were high." 

Amesite creates outstanding learning experiences delivered on its advanced platform, providing a positive impact for employees. Using A.I. and advanced analytics to provide fresh content creates an essential context for learning. Coupled with outstanding services, these experiences deepen professionals' interest in subjects important to their company's goals and spur creative ways to execute new practices. Amesite's unparalleled retention rate in the enterprise sector is 100%.    

Let Amesite help your company upskill today. Request a Demo!  

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Resources: 

[1] Staffing Advisors. Nov. 29, 2009. When is the Best Time to Recruit? https://blog.staffingadvisors.com/2009/11/29/when-is-the-best-time-to-recruit#:~:text=Ideally%20you%20want%20to%20be,the%20same%20people%20you%20are Accessed Feb. 22, 2021.  

[2] SHRM. Feb. 5, 2019. The Skills Gap 2019. https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/trends-and-forecasting/research-and-surveys/pages/skills-gap-2019.aspx Accessed Feb. 22, 2021.  

[3] Oliver Wyman. 2018. Building the Automotive Workforce for the Future. https://www.oliverwyman.com/our-expertise/insights/2018/sep/automotive-manager-2018/resources/building-the-automotive-workforce-for-the-future.html Accessed Feb. 22, 2021.  

[4] CNBC. Feb. 19, 2020. It's never been this hard for companies to find qualified workers. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/19/its-never-been-this-hard-for-companies-to-find-qualified-workers.html Accessed Feb. 22, 2021.  

[5] FRED. Jan. 21, 2021. Total Unfilled Job Vacancies for the United States. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LMJVTTUVUSQ647S Accessed Feb. 22, 2021.  

[6] JP Morgan. Jan. 29, 2020. Help Wanted: Why the U.S. Has Millions of Unfilled Jobs. https://www.jpmorgan.com/commercial-banking/insights/why-us-has-millions-of-unfilled-jobs Accessed Feb. 22, 2021.  

[7] JP Morgan. Jan. 29, 2020. Help Wanted: Why the U.S. Has Millions of Unfilled Jobs. https://www.jpmorgan.com/commercial-banking/insights/why-us-has-millions-of-unfilled-jobs Accessed Feb. 22, 2021.  

[8] JP Morgan. Jan. 29, 2020. Help Wanted: Why the U.S. Has Millions of Unfilled Jobs. https://www.jpmorgan.com/commercial-banking/insights/why-us-has-millions-of-unfilled-jobs Accessed Feb. 22, 2021.  

[9] Forbes. Nov. 27, 2019. How to Recruit, Upskill, And Advance: A Toolkit for Optimizing Employee Experience. https://www.forbes.com/sites/shamahyder/2019/11/27/forbeshow-to-recruit-upskill-and-advance-a-toolkit-for-optimizing-employee-experience/?sh=371415ba146e Accessed Feb. 22, 2021.  

[10] Forbes. Nov. 27, 2019. How to Recruit, Upskill, And Advance: A Toolkit for Optimizing Employee Experience. https://www.forbes.com/sites/shamahyder/2019/11/27/forbeshow-to-recruit-upskill-and-advance-a-toolkit-for-optimizing-employee-experience/?sh=371415ba146e Accessed Feb. 22, 2021.