Emerging technology and upskilling: How to boost your workforce By: Kiana Seitz October 9, 2024 Estimated reading time: 7 minutes. The relentless pace of technological advancement shows no signs of slowing down. Is your business keeping up with the latest tech and digital strategies to remain competitive? Two-thirds of companies surveyed report skills gaps in their current team. That’s why upskilling may be the key to your growth and maintaining competitiveness in the market. In this article, we’ll examine the impact of upskilling your current workforce on meeting your organizational goals and objectives and share the five steps to creating an effective upskilling program. What is upskilling in technology? Upskilling is learning new or updated skills to help you do your job better now or plan for future needs. In technology, this means learning new software, strategies, or specialties to keep up with the pace of emerging technology and changing job requirements. The cost of upskilling vs. hiring Many businesses that struggle to find new employees with the required skills may benefit from upskilling their current employees to meet technological challenges. It is faster than onboarding new team members and more cost-effective (onboarding a new team member costs as much as $7,500 to $28,000 plus lost productivity time). Upskilling a current employee costs significantly less, and they may qualify for scholarships or bursaries. Supporting the upskilling needs of your current staff is essential to help your business keep pace with technological advancements and trends. It should be included as part of your digital transformation strategy. Learn more about including technology upskilling in your digital transformation strategy. Current trends in tech upskilling The skills your team needs to upskill or reskill will depend on your needs and business objectives. Regardless, we predict that the top technologies to upskill will include: Artificial intelligence (AI) The significance of AI's capabilities and applications across nearly every industry cannot be overstated. Microsoft Founder, Bill Gates, has even gone as far as to predict that it’s poised to be one of the most important emerging technologies in recent decades. AI supports technology like: Chatbots - to support responding to customer queries faster than live agents Personalization - to make product recommendations to customers Content creation - to use AI tools for brainstorming, writing, and editing content such as blogs, social media, ads, and other campaigns. Artificial intelligence stats for business Between 2015-2019, businesses using AI grew by 270% (Gartner) AI market size is expected to reach $407 billion by 2027 (Forbes) 64% of businesses plan to use AI to increase productivity (Forbes) 56% of businesses plan to use AI to boost customer service (Forbes) Machine learning Machine learning is a branch of data science and artificial intelligence that uses algorithms to look for patterns in data and make decisions or predictions. It can make predictions based on what it learns to help optimize your business operations. This emerging technology is enabling smarter, data-driven decision-making for businesses globally. Machine learning can help your business: Identify fraud Classify and segment data (including customer data and information) Improve the accuracy of chatbots Model and predict customer behaviour, churn, segmentation, and sales forecasting Detect or predict cyber threats Machine learning stats for business The machine learning market is expected to reach $209 billion by 2029 (Intuition) 34% of businesses expect to prioritize machine learning in the next year (Rackspace Technology, 2024) 42% of companies report that the profitability of their machine learning (and AI) initiatives exceeded expectations (Accenture) 48% of businesses use machine learning to get valuable insights into their prospects and customers (G2) 68% of businesses are expecting to re-skill and upskill existing employees in machine learning and AI (itransition) Learn more about the skills to look for when hiring for machine learning roles. Cybersecurity Cybersecurity is an in-demand career path and a growing high-skill need for businesses. Hackers are constantly evolving their strategies and technology to develop new ways to penetrate business systems and steal customer data or proprietary business information. Team members with highly skilled cybersecurity knowledge will play an important role in risk management, protection, and remediation of these threats. Team members with up-to-date knowledge of cybersecurity can help your business: Predict potential risks and threats Design proactive responses to protect your organization’s systems and sensitive data Act quickly to stop active cyber attacks Strengthen your overall digital security and be a champion for security across your organization Cybersecurity stats for business Cybercrime damages are expected to reach $10.5 trillion by 2025 (Esentire) 41% of businesses are struggling to hire cybersecurity experts (Rackspace Technology) 92% report having cybersecurity skills gaps in their organization (ISC2) 4 million cybersecurity professionals were needed worldwide in 2023 (ISC2) The cybersecurity workforce gap in North America was 19% (521,827 people) in 2023 (ISC2) Learn more about the in-demand skills taught in top cybersecurity bootcamps. Why businesses need to focus on tech upskilling According to a Robert Half Canada survey, 92% of hiring managers struggle to find skilled talent. Over half (52%) say finding talent with the right skills is the top issue. Many will instead focus on upskilling and reskilling their current employees. How can your business benefit from an upskilling or reskilling program? Increased productivity - AI and ML tools can function like a supercharged assistant when wielded by skilled managers. Your teams can use their newly acquired tech skills to optimize processes and increase productivity. Boost your competitiveness - Maintain or boost your competitiveness by staying ahead of industry trends and tech advancements. Drive business growth - Use new technology to find gaps in the customer experience, offerings, and business processes to optimize and increase revenue and business growth. Save money - It costs less to reskill your staff than hiring and onboarding a new employee. Better mitigate against threats - With upskilled cybersecurity staff, you can better mitigate against security threats and breaches (and the related costs of data breaches). Better retain top talent - Learn how upskilling your current team can help you retain diverse talent. Abu Batasia, former Director of Enterprise Sales at Lighthouse Labs, speaks highly of upskilling programs to help solve your technology challenges: “If you can come up with a strong L&D strategy (something Lighthouse Labs can advise), you can skill up your own people, overcome digital skills gaps in your organization, and get them to solve problems at an organizational level.” Learn why you need to stop hiring new team members (and why upskilling is the key to growth). Ready to future-proof your workforce? Connect with our Talent Development team today! Top emerging technologies to upskill In The world of technology is vast, so where should you focus your upskilling? That depends on your organizational goals and where skills gaps exist in your current team. We suggest upskilling in the following emerging technologies skills: Blockchain Blockchain has become an important tool for its traceability, transparency, and security. Skilled individuals can use blockchain to support: Trusted data (blockchain data can not be altered or reversed) Better protect against identity theft Lower costs for business transactions 24-7 (not only during banking hours) Cryptocurrency transactions and payment processing Data science Data scientists are essential to your organization's AI and machine learning initiatives. Programming languages and strategies for this technology are constantly evolving, so you need experts who can stay current on the latest tools and skills. Experts in data science will help you: Clean and sort data Create algorithms to analyze trends Make data accessible to stakeholders Interpret data presented by your machine learning algorithms Build and design AI and machine learning programs for your unique needs. Learn more about the skills and capabilities gained in data science programs and bootcamps. What are upskilling strategies? As an organizational leader, you play an important role in supporting the upskilling of your staff. While they can always pursue upskilling or reskilling programs independently, organizations should dedicate resources to supporting their team's education (either through providing an educational fund to each employee or organizing upskilling programs). Lighthouse Labs has trained over 40,000 people in in-demand tech skills, enabling businesses to hire from this talented, job-ready pool of candidates. These students stay up to date in web development, data, and cybersecurity. We can provide upskilling courses for your staff or introduce you to other independent graduates of our bootcamps who are eager and ready to work in this field. We offer two training solutions to meet your needs, our off-the-shelf courses and our tailored solutions: Connect with us today to find the perfect learning and development solution to upskill your team. How to create an effective upskilling program Are you ready to create an effective upskilling program for your organization? Here are six steps to get started: Identify skills gaps: What tech skills does your team need to meet today's needs and your organization's anticipated future demands? Determine what skill development is needed to meet larger company goals: Align upskilling to skills that will contribute to the success and growth of your business. Empower your employees: Engage in a continuous dialogue with your team to understand their needs and future aspirations with the company. This will help you tailor learning opportunities to their desires and make them feel valued and integral to the company's operations. Choose a delivery method: Consider the adaptability of upskilling programs. Many can be done while maintaining their 9-5 job. Look for customized programs or ones that offer flexibility for online courses. Encourage attending industry events: Encourage your staff to attend industry events to stay up-to-date on industry trends. Measure and evaluate: Ask your employees for their feedback about the program. Did it meet their goals? Was the subject matter and difficulty appropriate? You could also offer internship positions to help train potential future employees. When implementing your training program, provide opportunities for continuous learning so your team can stay on the cutting edge of tech. Lighthouse Labs’ can help you realize your business strategy and objectives through corporate training programs or by introducing you to top tech talent. Hire top tech talent today Train and upskill your team FAQs What are the barriers or challenges to upskilling? Barriers to corporate tech upskilling may include uncertainty about costs, inflexibility of some training programs, and a lack of understanding of what skills are actually needed. Lighthouse Labs’ experts are here to provide insight and guidance. Connect with our team. How do I make an upskilling plan? Creating an upskilling plan starts by identifying your organization's tech skills gaps. Then, explore off-the-shelf or tailored solutions that can effectively address these gaps. What is the purpose of upskilling? Upskilling helps you better meet your business objectives without the added cost and productivity drain of hiring new employees. By investing in your current employees' education, you'll ensure they will be better able to handle the tech challenges of today and the future. How to upskill yourself in the IT industry? To upskill in IT, first, decide what area you want to learn more about. Then look for an accredited program or bootcamp that meets your needs. Lighthouse Labs has courses in web development, data, and cybersecurity and additional free, self-paced courses online. What is the difference between upskilling and reskilling? Upskilling is about staying updated on a specialty you already know and preparing you for promotions. Reskilling, on the other hand, is about venturing into new topics or specialties you have little or no previous experience with, preparing you for lateral career moves.