Mohan Lakhamraju founded Great Learning, an EdTech company, with a mission to enable career success for professionals everywhere through accessible high quality, transformational learning. Views are the author's own.
The pandemic has had a significant impact on the global workforce and redefined how we work, giving rise to The Great Resignation across every industry and demographic group in the United States and beyond. Employees should be top of mind for employers looking to get ahead of the competition with a thriving and engaged workforce — starting with upskilling and reskilling opportunities to engage them and drive their career success.
Organizations worldwide are beginning to invest more in professional development programs, which have quickly become a necessity to advance the workforce. From healthcare to tech, institutions are doubling down on easily accessible education programs that provide opportunities for employees to grow and develop cutting-edge capabilities, ultimately creating a more agile and robust workforce. Learning new skills and adapting to new technologies is mutually beneficial for employers and employees, enabling innovation to win in the competitive landscape of today's tight labor market.
Across the world's eight largest economies, over 100M people (1 out of every 16 workers) will be required to transition to a new role by 2030, McKinsey reports. Employers who acknowledge this trend and offer their workforce the ability to learn new skills through cost-effective online development courses will better prepare employees for a future role, or expand upon a current one, and will also reinforce a people-first culture by making employees feel valued, engaged and motivated. Such upskilling ensures that domain knowledge acquired by employees through their years of service in an organization is augmented by cutting-edge technologies and skills to drive meaningful innovation and adaptation to the changing needs of the business.
Now more than ever, professional development is crucial to business success. Cultivating a talented and motivated workforce will continue to be a priority for companies of all sizes, and investing in upskilling will further drive employee recruitment, engagement, retention and development. Establishing a professional development program that ensures strong learning outcomes and high success rates will support business growth and help employees realize their professional goals.
