Provide training opportunities and career tracks to ensure lower-paid employees have the opportunities and supports needed for advancement.

Colorado is the second most educated state in the country, however, almost one-third of Colorado’s adult population lacks any education beyond high school. With 74% of Colorado’s jobs requiring post-secondary credentials, this means that at least one-third of Colorado’s adult workforce cannot serve in these positions.

According to the World Economic Forum, 1.1 billion jobs are liable to be radically transformed by technology in the next decade. Employers will have to prioritize upskilling and reskilling their workforce. The good news is that an organization’s upskilling, reskilling, and inclusion efforts can work in tandem.

Here are some strategies to build a structure for successful upskilling:

Create opportunities for entry-level employees to meet with leadership to discuss career paths and explain the educational benefits at your company.

Identify positions in your company that would be beneficial next career steps and create a path to and through those positions for your employees.

Provide opportunities for people to mingle before, during, and after they begin working in a new department so they can share their experiences and challenges in groups.

Assign HR professionals to check in with each employee working to upskill or reskill to ask about his or her well-being and potential challenges.

Understand the government benefits “cliff effect” and monitor the impact on your employees.

Pair upskilled and reskilled employees with accessible, longtime peer mentors in their new department.

Be methodical and detailed in how you onboard employees to their new positions. Common practices differ across departments.

Additional Resources

Skill Advance Colorado is job training grant that supports Colorado’s workforce development by providing grants to both existing businesses and those locating to or expanding in Colorado.

The Reskilling Revolution initiative was launched at the World Economic Forum’s 50th Annual Meeting and aims to provide one billion people with better education, skills and jobs by 2030.

Guild Education can help guide and support your upskilling efforts.

UpSkill America is an employer-led movement to expand opportunity for America’s workers and allow our economy and communities to thrive.

Top companies like Amazon and AT&T are investing in upskilling. Learn more in this article from CareerMinds.

Contact us if you have jobs in IT or Healthcare, we have consultants that can help with upskilling your team into these better jobs.