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Why businesses need to upskill and reskill to emerge stronger

Throughout the past year, businesses and their employees have had to continuously adjust and adapt. Some organisations have needed to pivot or drastically re-think business plans and many companies, large and small, now need to ‘do more with less’. Whether that’s as a result of a reduced workforce, a strain on finances or a more challenging operating environment, there are few who can say it’s ‘business as usual’.

Joe Hedley, Assistant Director of Sales and Business Development at Northumbria University, explains the growing need to upskill and reskill employees to ensure that businesses remain efficient, effective and competitive in a post-COVID world.

How has Covid-19 affected businesses’ skills, capacity and ability to deliver?

Since the start of the pandemic, our ability to make choices has diminished. Many businesses have been unable to recruit at a time when they arguably most need new skills to survive and adapt.

Undoubtedly, employees with a diverse skillset are more valuable right now. In many cases, those in senior positions are being called upon to do more as a result of changing demands, increased business pressures or lower-level roles having been furloughed. However, these additional responsibilities don’t always come with the necessary training and support.

Conversely, some businesses are overwhelmed with new and growing opportunities as a result of the pandemic but are similarly struggling to support employees as they try to adapt and cope.

No matter what the challenges or opportunities, COVID-19 forced most companies to change the way they work almost overnight. Consequently, employees now need new or different skills in order to deliver effectively in the long term.

What’s the difference between reskilling and upskilling?

To reskill is to retrain someone in a completely new skillset in order to deliver a different role, whereas upskilling involves learning additional skills to improve an existing skillset.

Why is it so important to upskill and reskill staff right now?

History tells us that in times of crises, successful businesses use recovery as an opportunity to learn and innovate; to re-evaluate what customers want and how to provide it; and to make critical changes to how they are organised and work. These companies reportedly outgrow their peers nearly fourfold. Driving forward in this way means businesses become purpose-built for the new future.

As a result of the digital revolution, and long before the pandemic, it was estimated that 7 out of 10 workers across all sectors needed to upskill their digital capabilities. With the arrival and subsequent challenges of COVID-19, the influence of digital technologies has been dramatically accelerated – compounding the need for new and improved digital skills in every area of the economy.

The full social and economic impacts of COVID (after all, it is not over yet!) are still very much unknown. New problems and new opportunities are yet to be presented and therefore the need for us to adapt, improve and change our skillsets – and retrain where necessary – will become part of the ‘new normal’ for businesses and individuals alike.

How can Universities help?

Drawing on research-rich education, universities like Northumbria can provide a tailored approach to equipping organisations large and small, across all sectors, with the right skills. From degree apprenticeships and continuous professional development, to new product development partnerships and bespoke collaborations, the University can help businesses understand and solve their evolving skills needs (and gaps) so that they’re able to successfully deliver new business models in a post-COVID world.

Read Northumbria University’s Partner of Choice supplement, with the University’s latest business news and information on how research can drive business growth, here.

Find out more about why improving skills in the North East workfore is fundamental to our economic future.