As we discuss workforce development, the terms upskilling and reskilling and often used and thus we want to be clear about how they are used.
Upskilling and reskilling are both important strategies for developing new skills and improving employability, but they differ in their focus and goals.
Upskilling refers to the process of learning new skills or enhancing existing ones in order to improve job performance or advance in one’s current career. Upskilling is typically focused on developing skills that are related to one’s current role, such as learning new software programs or developing better communication skills.
Reskilling, on the other hand, involves learning new skills that are completely different from one’s current job in order to pursue a different career path or to adapt to changes in the job market. Reskilling often involves a more significant investment of time and resources, as it requires learning a completely new set of skills.
In short, upskilling is about improving and advancing within one’s current career, while reskilling is about pivoting to a new career altogether.
These definitions were created with the assistance of ChatGPT from OpenAI.