Upskilling as a Tool for Attracting and Retaining Your Human Capital

I recently read a new report entitled The American Upskilling Study: Empowering Workers for the Jobs of Tomorrow. To fuel the research, Gallup surveyed over 15K workers in the U.S. labor force about their opinions on upskilling. Upskilling is the act of providing an individual with more advanced skills through additional education and training. The research explored employee interests and motivations for pursuing upskilling, the availability of and participation in those opportunities, and the impacts of completing upskilling programs. Below are a few high-level takeaways in each of those categories.

Interest: 

  • 57% of all workers said they are “very” interested in participating in an upskilling program.

  • 59% stated that career advancement was their primary motivation for being interested in such programs.

Availability:

  • 65% of workers believe employer-provided upskilling is “very” important to evaluating a new job. For young adults aged 18-24, upskilling was the third most important employee benefits beating out even paid vacation.  

  • For workers impacted by COVID-19, 56% stated they were likely to switch jobs for an upskilling opportunity, compared with 26% of those not impacted.

Participation: 

  • Men (57%) are more likely than women (47%) to have participated in an upskilling program over the last 12 months.

  • Participation in upskilling programs over the last 12 months was higher for Black workers (64%) and Hispanic workers (63%) than White workers (46%).

Impacts:

  • 75% of workers reported career advancement after participating in an upskilling program.

  • Workers who recently participated in an upskilling program have annual incomes that are on average $8,000 higher than those who did not (which is the equivalent of an 8.6% salary increase).

  • 65% of workers who completed an upskilling program agree that it had a positive impact on their standard of living.

  • 71% of workers who recently completed upskilling agree it positively impacted their job satisfaction.

Gallup’s research stratified much of this research by industry – and I was especially interested to dig into the education sector data. Notably, 46% of education employees say that their current employer does not offer upskilling opportunities. In one of the sectors most significantly impacted by the pandemic, this could have a negative impact on both attracting new teachers into the profession and retaining teachers in the classroom. It’s not a secret that there is a lack of accessible, high quality upskilling opportunities for educators. When we invest in our educators, they can achieve career advancement, higher wages, a better standard of living, and stronger job satisfaction.

In our own recent research, we found that teachers who are upskilled in STEM and CS through MindSpark programs like STEMpath have access to improved job and leadership opportunities with the chance to earn up to 34% more annually - equating to an additional $9,000 to $16,000 every year. And a teacher whose pension is based on their top annual salary has the opportunity for that salary premium to follow them into retirement. Consistent with the Gallup research, 75% of our STEMpath program graduates have reported career advancement and a pay raise. Check out more about the impact of STEMpath – our computer science and cybersecurity upskilling program here.

We are currently accepting applications for the January 2022 cohort today. Apply at STEMpath — MindSpark.

Melissa Risteff