How to Make the Case for Reskilling to Leadership in 2023
Global reskilling efforts are becoming a critical measurement of workforce sustainability within multiple industries. As change becomes the new constant, learning and development initiatives’ success will be measured more by their adaptability and scalability in the coming years. 
The introduction of new technologies is transforming the workforce at a rate that companies either need to keep pace with or flounder. In fact, more than half the world’s workforce will need reskilling or upskilling by 2025 according to the World Economic Forum.
As the world evolves its human capital with new skills and companies look to instill further change in their learning and development (L&D) strategies, managers and team leads must start thinking about how they can present these programs to leadership for buy-in. Over half of HR managers face resistance to budget approvals and say organizational leadership still views L&D as a cost rather than an investment.
Knowing reskilling and L&D programs can transform workforces isn’t enough. To achieve buy-in, bring the strategy to life by introducing the proven benefits to company leaders. Showcase these programs’ ability to diversify talent pipelines, improve retention, reduce hiring costs, and create scalable solutions for continual L&D programs.
Continue reading as we highlight the steps to making the case for reskilling to leadership and future-proof your company’s workforce.
Highlight three reskilling benefits.
Before taking your case to leadership for consideration, having the key data to prove reskilling’s impact is crucial. Below we’ll discuss three key ways reskilling can benefit an organization when implemented correctly.
1. Reskilling Improves Retention
Employees with opportunities for internal mobility are two times more likely to stay with that company than those without. Reskilling and upskilling programs offer direct paths to career advancement and mobility through skills-building programs.
By presenting opportunities for employees to make lateral or vertical moves, your organization will find more fulfilled and engaged employees committed to growing their careers. Roughly 93 percent of CEOs whose companies introduced skills-building programs saw increased productivity, improved retention and talent acquisition, and a more resilient workforce.
Rather than lose employees as their career develops, empower them with the opportunities to grow within the company with programs designed to improve the organization while increasing an employee’s skill set.
2. Reskilling Drives Diversity
Companies are committed to spending millions on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs to reduce the impact of historical barriers and practices that negatively impact underrepresented groups. Fortune 1000 companies average $1.5 million allocated to diversity-department budgets to improve DEI within the workplace.
While DEI and L&D budgets may be separate within an organization, their goals and paths to success may be solved with similar solutions. Reskilling programs present a unique and targeted approach to empowering underrepresented groups in the workforce through training. By offering skills-building programs like reskilling, companies provide employees with opportunities for career advancement while creating diverse teams from talent already within the organization.
3. Reskilling Fosters a Learning Culture
Engaged teams in the workforce show 23 percent greater profitability, and of those engaged teams, 59 percent report less turnover. Simply put – an engaged workforce is a productive workforce.
One way to increase employee engagement is to create a culture of learning. By offering reskilling and upskilling programs to employees, companies are giving their workforce clear paths to career advancement while decreasing skills gaps.
Successful L&D programs will encourage more employees to develop and apply their skills to the team. As the workforce changes with the introduction of new technology, these programs will be vital in keeping employees engaged and more adept at learning new skills to meet changes in the future.
Show leadership reskilling by the numbers.
Reskilling programs save companies time and money compared to traditional talent acquisition methods. Instead of wasting time sourcing candidates from external pipelines, which averages 62 days, reskilling offers companies the opportunity to supplement talent pipelines with individuals from within the organization.
When reskilling programs fill in-demand tech roles, the associated savings are tremendous. According to DevSkiller, hiring a new software engineer costs nearly $32,000 when using a hiring agency and $23,000 for in-house recruitment teams. The average cost of reskilling an employee is $24,800 by comparison.
Depending on the role, costs could vary even more when factoring in productivity loss and the average time it takes to fill the position. Reskilled employees’ onboarding time is cut dramatically because of crossboarding. Rather than experiencing the entire onboard process, reskilled employees typically have a shorter and targeted crossboarding experience since they already work within the company.
Prove reskilling is scalable.
Reskilling creates scalable skills-building programs that can be utilized in future L&D initiatives. Companies build organizational resilience to economic and market uncertainties by creating an adaptable workforce and proven skills-building programs, allowing them to change with the times rather than against them.
Reskilling partner and Fortune 500 company, KeyBank, started its reskilling journey with Tech Elevator as a hiring partner. From there, they launched their own reskilling initiative by sending employees through our online program. To date, KeyBank has reskilled 81 employees, experienced 100 percent retention among those reskilled and has launched its own program exclusive to KeyBank employees.
See their journey in the graphic below:
Explore how to reskill with the experts.
There are many benefits to launching a reskilling program as part of a company’s overall L&D strategy. Whether you’re looking to launch a large-scale reskilling initiative or explore more options for your organization’s L&D strategy, Tech Elevator’s team is here to help.
Our team is comprised of experts in the space when it comes to implementing scalable reskilling solutions. With over 3,500 graduates and industry-leading outcomes, Tech Elevator is the solution that can help your company develop its workforce of the future.
Contact our team to learn more about how Tech Elevator’s Reskilling Program can partner with your organization.
