What to do ? Invest in yourself
Upskilling & Reskilling
As we go into a new year with covid-19 still hanging around, and still many of use have a lot of uncertainties about the whole situation. For a lot of us it’s about finding ways to fill our time and not waste it. struggling each day todo something a little bit different to fill the time. Upskilling? Reskilling?
For those of us who are struggling to seek employment or feel their job is at risk. I am here today to let you know you’re not alone and to help guide you through the benefits that come in investing in yourself and enhancing your skills or reskilling. Being motivate to change yourself or to change what might seem a natural routine.
One thing I can personally take away from this pandemic is no one’s is safe. And it is up to you to look and seek for new skills to better yourself. This is an opportunity to seize this free time and turn it into something beneficial. There has never been a world wide pandemic like this for some time and we are all continulouly learning.
Definition
Upskilling
is the process of acquiring new and relevant competencies needed today and in the near future digitalhrtech
Reskilling
is the process of learning new skills so you can do a different job, or of training people to do a different job. talentguard
Covid-19 has made us upskill already and you may not even know this, from the precaution that we’re in place to keep this virus at bay. From no contact to face masks to disinfectant everything we touch more frequently. Giving people the opportunity to work from home, giving people more free time.
“Our latest analysis shows that the impact of the #COVID19 pandemic far exceeds that of the 2008-2009 financial crisis. Workers and businesses face catastrophe without urgent, coordinated measures by governments.” – International Labour Organization- According to news.un.org According Global unemployment already at 190 million.
Adding additional skills or reskilling only enhances your skillset. As it’s important to keep up to date, in this ever changing world. If one person is able to work across multiple areas thus is seen as more effective and cheaper for an employer. For instance when you’re going camping. We opt to bring a swiss army knife over a normal knife. Why ? The answer is the swiss army knife has multi function capability. This is what an employer looks for. Being able to not just do your work but have the additional skills to support others in the workplace. From an employers perspective they are looking for candidates with a greater skilled workforce. According to the irishtimes these are the things employers look for. What things can you add in addition to the skills already acquired.
Over time we have seen the introduction of robots and how they have replaced workers due to speed efficiently etc. Now we are seeing over qualified people who are applying for entry level jobs. Due to covid 19 we have suffered economically and financially, with the rise of unemployment and the closing of businesses who have suffered due to being closed.
When you get asked that crucial question “ What did you do to keep busy during this Pandemic?”
Whilst a lot of us have so much extra time on our hands, why not invest your free time, it pays the most rewards. It’s an added bonus for an employer when they look at your CV and see additional skills were added during the pandemic. It suggests you invest in yourself whether it’s a new area of interest or finessing your current skills. Stand out
For me I’ve actually done both, with my background in advertising and marketing, I opted to learn a new skill prior to traveling and added barbering to my skill set. This new skill has served me really well. Getting to grips with clients and being able to keep a conversation going and of course being able to cut hair. Although this is a new skill, it improves my client facing & communication skills adding to my already existing skills.
Due to being in Ireland, we are currently still in lockdown till mid may/June. This will bring lockdown to well over a year. Finally we might see the country open. But till then finding a job seems tough so i’ve opted to do online learning to keep up to date in the advertising and marketing field. I’ve acquired by learning from multiple sources like job sites, course finder, local college etc. Having endless amount of time on your hands, makes you think a-lot about yourself and these hard times and how can i come out on top at the end of this.
Please see link for additional courses below
- UCD Inovators
- International Institute Of Digital Marketing™
- Back to work
- 20-ways-to-invest-in-yourself-during-quarantine
- IIDM Blogs
Pros
- Makes you more desirable for hiring.
- Working from home – gives you that extra time to be able to add skills.
- Knowledge is power.
- Networking.
- Keeps you alert / on top of your industry
- Adding to your excising skills
- Learn something new
Cons
- Your time and possibly money.
- Working from home – Missing the social aspect.
If anyone has any Disadvantages or info why you shouldn’t. please share. In the comments below? For some it’s their only option. Therefore keeping up to date is a must or we get lost with times. Look at when computers were introduced. We all learned new ways to do something viva computer.
Personal Experience
As an individual who returned home from Australia after spending two years traveling and working abroad to return home in the middle of a pandemic was a shock and still here in a lockdown today. I still can believe whats going on.
It was an unwary feeling nearly being stranded and having no incoming coming and getting no support as such from either governments. As to the nature of the trip. Working holiday visa. Not eligible for covid payment as I’m not Australian and getting no support from the Irish government. Flight back to Ireland mid April 2020 5,000 + dollars one way. Eating away at any money you had saved because a lot weren’t working. Weren’t allowed to go to the beach at one point.
Finally getting home to Ireland after trying to get back a numerous of weeks ago. For me it’s almost a year since leaving Australia and living with the virus and struggling to find unemployment. Doing everything to keep myself busy “Home renovation and the lot” . I’ve gone through the motions. The third lockdown affected me more and we continue to be in lockdown till June 2021 or end of may 2021. To be continued
Time has been my friend in the sense I’ve had a lot of it , over a year, to be able to think and find myself. Do new things, explore, that sense of freedom. But since December 2020 for me it’s been all about upskilling and adding more to my skill sets. Ive achieved this through online learning which I mentioned above. For me it’s how I improve myself and secure a job for the future. See where this road will lead me. Thus always thinking positively and not being afraid of rejection. This is the circle of life in business, trial and error. We learn from our mistakes.
Conclusion
For me personally, I think we can safely say it’s all positive views. Invest in yourself while you have the free/extra time, we may never get another opportunity. Furthermore Upskilling|reskilling can only eventually add additionally income or resources to ones self. It is equal important to keep our mind busy during these tough times. Seek and reward. It really comes down to each individual and how motivated they are or how much time they have.