4 EMPLOYEES WANT TO RESKILL— WHEN IT MAKES SENSE

In this section, companies face numerous challenges, with a major one being the difficulty of
convincing and persuading employees to undergo reskilling. According to an OECD study, very small
fraction of workers that take part in training programs, Another study focused on small businesses
found that 67% of these companies had little to no employee participation in reskilling efforts.
However, how can we express this? In reality, there are various reasons that make employees
hesitant, and some of these reasons can be identified..

Fear of Job Insecurity: Employees in small businesses may fear that seeking training or reskilling
could be presented as a sign of their inadequacy in their current roles. They may worry about
potential job insecurity if they reveal a need for additional skills.

Resistance to Change: Low-skilled employees may be more inclined to resist change, especially if
they have worked in the same field for many years. They may perceive training and reskilling as
disruptions or threats to their current employment.

So companies have to persuad them because this idea of “buy, not build” not going to work usually
because

talent strategy is getting more difficult—and expensive—to pull off, especially in a market where the
supply of skills like cloud computing and cybersecurity can’t satisfy the immense demand for them,
like Paul Daugherty, chief and innovation officer at Accenture PLC. “Executives have this idea that ‘as
my people become obsolete, I’ll just hire new people,’ ” he said. “Well, they won’t be there.”
Because it can be difficult finding job candidates with the precise skills employers need and
also because of shortage

"Companies can look at current employees who have skills closely matched to those in
demand and utilize training to close any gaps," said Alison Smith, director in the Gartner HR
practice,
A recent report from Gartner suggests HR professionals should look for employees or job
candidates with "adjacent skills" to the ones they need, instead of precise but hard-to-find
traits.

But what’s adjacent skills shortage

refers to the concept that certain skills or abilities are closely related or adjacent to each
other. These skills are often similar or share common elements, making it easier for someone
who possesses one skill to acquire or apply another skill in a related area. In simple terms, it
means that if you are good at one thing, you might also be able to pick up or excel in
something closely related without starting from scratch. This can be valuable in career
development and learning new skills.

So how can we convince them to reskill

To solve this problem our article highlighted some principles that companies must work on

On of the solution is to Treat employees as partners

1 Treat employees as partners.

employees are more likely to participate if they understand why the programs are being
implemented and have had a role in creating them.
several of the companies made a point of being honest and clear about why they were creating
reskilling programs and involving workers early

One large auto manufacturer, told its diesel engineers that because of changes in the automobile
industry, it had less and less need for their skills; the company presented the program as a way of
ensuring engineers that they would have new jobs and job security in the years ahead..

ransparency and Communication: Being open and transparent with employees about the need for
reskilling programs. It involves explaining why the programs are being implemented, how they
benefit both the organization and the employees, and what opportunities they create for career
growth and job security. When employees understand the rationale, they are more likely to embrace
and actively participate in the programs.

THE next step is we have to

2 Design programs from the employee point of view.

Amazon allows employees in its Career Choice program to pursue everything from bachelor’s
degrees to certificates

What’s new with Career Choice?

In 2022, we’ve announced several additions to the program.

• Increased Options: Employees can choose from a wider range of education offerings
including high school completion/GED, English as a Second Language (ESL), and
bachelor’s degrees, in addition to the previously offered associate degrees and
certificates.
• Fully Funded Opportunities: Up to an annual maximum benefit, Amazon will pre-pay
100% of tuition for employees to pursue everything from bachelor’s degrees to
certificates.
• Limitless Learning:
• Through Career Choice, Amazon offers to fully fund tuition and fees for hourly employees in
the U.S. after just 90 days of employment through our 180+ school partners. The idea is to
put employees on a path toward well-paying, in-demand professions whether they decide to
continue their careers at Amazon or outside of Amazon.

Examples;
First one

Davis was working in an Amazon fulfillment center in California, helping research customer orders
when she signed up for Career Choice. Davis said she loved working at Amazon, and when the chance
came along to get an advanced education, she jumped at it.

“I couldn't help but take advantage of it. I don’t know who wouldn't want to expand their mindset
and just go for it,” she said. So davis said she focused on healthcare because her mother suffered two
heart attacks in six months. Because of the degree she earned through Career Choice, she now has a
full-time job as a first aid instructor with the American Red Cross and feels incredibly lucky.
“People ask me all the time how I got this job,” said Davis,. “And I tell them Amazon got me the job!
If they didn't have Career Choice, I would've never, ever even known about going into the healthcare
field.”

“We offer training paths designed to lead to opportunities and careers outside of Amazon,” said Juan
Garcia, director of Associate Career Development at Amazon. “If we can help people realize their
dreams, we want to be part of it.”

Second one
One success story is LaJuana Reese
A success story comes from LaJuana Reese, who is 51 years old. She began her career in 1988
as an operator at AT&T. Over time, she progressed through various positions in sales,
training, and management as the company shifted towards software-based
telecommunications so the tradionnel job of this lady has declined

Over the years, she took classes in data analytics and development methods offered by At and T.

In October 2016, Ms. Reese moved from a job doing workforce management and labor forecasting
to become a senior program manager in the company’s network department, helping to implement
big technology projects

Make a point of the differences between reskilling and outskilling using the previous examples of
Davis and Lajuana

De-learning means letting go of your own ways of working

In the new digital world, efficiency will still be important, but agility will be a top priority. To become
more agile, each of us must de-learn traditional methods for how we work and what we do every
day.

Being able to learn independently Learn to learn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwCev2AVpD4