Why Employee Upskilling Training Programs Make Sense for Today’s Workforce

Over the last few years, the workplace has changed at a relentless pace. Microsoft rolls out new features constantly. AI is showing up everywhere. 

Your employees are not resistant to change. They are just trying to keep up. 

If you want your team to stay productive, confident, and effective, upskilling is one of the most practical ways to do it. 

Below, we’ll break down what upskilling is and why many people leaders and training organizers see it as an easy yes. 

We'll discuss:

• What Is Upskilling?
• The Workforce Needs (and Wants) Upskilling
• Upskilling Aligns Specific In-Demand Skills with Business Outcomes
• Upskilling Boosts Team Morale and Engagement
• Upskilling Improves Retention and Reduces the Need for Recruitment
• Upskilling Is a More Tailored, Cost-Effective Training Initiative
• Leaders Also Start Learning Valuable Skills
• Bring the Benefits of Upskilling to Your Organization - Learn the Right Skills with Us Today

What Is Upskilling? 

Upskilling focuses on helping employees improve the skills they already use in their current roles. It’s about staying effective as tools, systems, and expectations evolve. 

We often see reskilling and upskilling used interchangeably, but they serve different purposes. Reskilling prepares people for new roles. Upskilling helps people get better at the jobs they already have. 

Upskilling also differs from traditional training in that it is more focused on specific updates or gaps. Consider it more of a tune-up than an overhaul.  

For example, your team may already use Excel every day. Upskilling fills in the gaps by showing them how to use Excel’s Check Performance feature to identify slow calculations, inefficient formulas, and issues that can affect accuracy.  

That is the value of upskilling. It strengthens existing skills, addresses what has changed, and helps people work more effectively without starting from scratch. 

The Workforce Needs (and Wants) Upskilling 

People are busy. Short, focused learning fits more easily into your workday and is easier to sustain. Employees can learn what has changed, apply it immediately, and continue their work. 

People also want practical training. They want to learn what they actually need, without any extra content that doesn’t apply to their role. Upskilling keeps training relevant by focusing on the specific tools, features, or processes employees use every day. 

Finally, budgets are tighter, and teams are leaner. Training needs to deliver value without taking people away from their work for long periods of time. Upskilling allows organizations to target the most important gaps and make efficient use of their training budget. 

Here are five reasons upskilling remains a practical choice for today’s training programs. 

Upskilling Aligns Specific In-Demand Skills with Business Outcomes 

Upskilling works best when it’s tied directly to the outcomes your organization cares about. 

Because upskilling is so focused, it’s easier to draw a clear line between training and results. When employees learn specific skills they use every day, improvements show up quickly in how work gets done. 

For example, many teams already know how to schedule a Microsoft Teams meeting. Your upskilling training would zero in on using the Meetings app. This would teach your employees to manage agendas, assign action items, and track follow-ups. The result would be fewer missed tasks and projects that move forward. 

Because the training is focused, it’s easier to measure concrete changes in workflow, communication, or output. This, in turn, makes it simpler to report success and build buy-in for future training. 

Upskilling Boosts Team Morale and Engagement  

Upskilling gives your team a chance to learn together. 

Training as a group creates space for conversation. Your staff can share how they currently work, ask questions in real time, and talk through how new skills will apply to their roles. That shared experience helps teams get on the same page faster. 

It also reduces frustration. Employees see that they are not the only ones adjusting to changes or learning new features. 

Those shared learning moments matter more than many teams expect. 

Upskilling Improves Retention and Reduces the Need for Recruitment 

Upskilling helps organizations build the skills they need internally and improves retention by keeping their employees engaged. 

When employees are given the chance to develop the skills required for their current roles, there is less need to bring in new hires. That alone saves time, reduces recruitment costs, and keeps knowledge inside the organization.  

It also supports retention. 

We all know it costs more to hire someone new - often 1.5 to 2 times an employee’s salary. Upskilling helps you avoid all that. Research shows that 94% of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in their learning and development. 

Upskilling Is a More Tailored, Cost-Effective Training Initiative  

When time and budgets are limited, training has to be focused. 

Upskilling allows organizations to concentrate on what is new or has changed, rather than building from the ground up. Employees are not relearning things they already know. They are filling in the gaps that are getting in the way of doing their jobs well today. That makes your session shorter, easier to schedule, and easier to justify.  

And because upskilling sessions are shorter and more targeted, they cost less than a traditional full-day training session. You are paying for the updates that matter, not for time spent reviewing familiar material. 

Leaders Also Start Learning Valuable Skills  

Upskilling is great for employees, but it is just as valuable for people leaders. 

Because upskilling focuses on helping teams adapt to new tools, features, and ways of working, it gives leaders real, hands-on experience supporting change as it happens.  

That experience matters. We‘ve discussed previously about how software changes can be so disruptive and difficult to manage. They’re also inevitable – we're living in a fast-changing workplace. 

Being part of your team's upskilling means leaders practice communicating clearly, setting expectations, and helping people work through uncertainty. They see where teams get stuck and what support actually helps. 

Bring the Benefits of Upskilling to Your Organization - Learn the Right Skills with Us Today 

At Great Canadian Training, upskilling means helping teams get more value out of the tools they already use. 

Our Microsoft 365 New Features Upskilling workshops are designed as an annual check-in for your team. Microsoft is constantly releasing updates to make work easier and faster. If your team is not aware of what has changed or how to use it, they are often spending extra time working the old way. 

Our live, instructor-led sessions are practical, focused, and customizable. You can choose to upskill using the tools and features that matter most to your team, whether that is Excel, Teams, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, or a mix of all four. Sessions are designed to fit real workdays and deliver skills your team can apply immediately. 

Reach out to our team to learn how an upskilling approach can help your organization get more value from the tools you already use.