The term UPSKILLING means that someone is taking an existing set of skills and building additional, related skills on top of them. The end result is that the person’s additional “upskilling” makes them more valuable to themselves and to an employer.
The initiative to upskill may come from the employer, who may offer new paid-for training to the employee, or it may come from the individual herself, who wishes to invest in herself regardless of whether there is front-end financial investment from the person’s current employer.
For example, someone working as a shipping assistant who rides along with a truck driver to unload company deliveries, might be offered the opportunity to take a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) class and afterward the company might offer to pay for the employee to take the CDL exam. If he/she passes, then they would be eligible to become a commercial truck driver and earn a raise.
The employee has thus accomplished being upskilled with a whole new set of skills and qualifications. This makes the person’s “upskilled” skillsets more valuable to both that employee and to the company, with new accompanying benefits and opportunities.
