Have you heard of upskilling? It is a term frequently heard in human resources and career training circles. It’s also a term you might want to become familiar with, especially if you are currently working in a career for which future advancement requires additional education. Note that upskilling and online education programs go hand-in-hand.
A Basic Definition
Upskilling is loosely defined as the process of expanding one’s existing skills in order to improve job performance or advance a career. Employees can take responsibility for upskilling themselves. Likewise, employers can invest in upskilling to improve workforce productivity and efficiency.
Employers are finding it increasingly more important to invest in upskilling. It is especially important in environments in which technology plays a crucial role in day-to-day operations. As technology evolves, it continues to place new demands on the workforce.
Key Aspects
The principle of upskilling is easy enough to understand if you are familiar with its key aspects. Here they are:
- It focuses on building and enhancing current skill sets.
- It tends to occur along linear career paths.
- It is designed to reduce skills gaps within organizations.
- It can include both technical and soft skills.
When an employer invests in upskilling, the goal is to improve the total workforce. When an employee pursues upskilling by themself, the goal is usually to further develop their career along with boosting earning potential and opening the doors to new opportunities. Regardless of who leads the way, online education programs are a key component to successful upskilling.
Why Online Education
Continuing education designed to equip employees with new skills can be obtained in any number of ways. Employees can go to traditional schools and sit in classrooms. They can attend live class instruction via online portals. They can even take self-paced classes online.
Online education programs do have their advantages. Here are just some of them:
- Accessibility – Online education is highly flexible and accessible in the sense that students can often do their coursework whenever it is most convenient. Unless a course is tied to live instruction, students can set their own schedules.
- Variety – Online learning colleges, like ProTrain, offer students a full variety of courses applicable to their careers. This gives employees the opportunity to be more selective.
- Cost – While there are exceptions to the rule, online education programs tend to cost less than in-person training. Online education is certainly less expensive than a traditional degree program.
- Speed – Along with lower costs is a shorter time commitment. Online education programs are generally completed in under a year. Meanwhile, degree programs can take several years to complete.
Understand that some online education programs result in immediate certification from the provider itself. Other courses prepare students to sit for an exam offered by a recognized accrediting organization. Each course is different so students should always take the time to fully understand what a particular course accomplishes.
Better Employees, Better Workplaces
Upskilling is all about creating better employees. When employees can obtain the skills necessary to maximize productivity and value, they contribute to better workplaces. Both employee and employer win with upskilling.
ProTrain offers an expansive catalog of online education programs covering a number of industries and careers. We offer courses for project managers, pharmacy technicians, computer programmers, architects and engineers, and more.
We invite you to take a look around our website. Career counselors are available to speak with you when you call (844) 292-8641. If you are ready to enroll in a particular course, send an email to enroll@protrain.edu. Be sure to mention the course in your email.
