How To Upskill Digitally

What is upskilling? 

Upskilling is continually growing and learning by providing training programs and growth opportunities to people in their fields. Upskilling can be done in any field at any level, and to put it simply, it involves learning new skills by individuals. 

Upskilling also refers to the process of learning new skills or upgrading the existing ones to improve professional capabilities in the job market. With the rise in technology, new possibilities have been created that are only fully realised in the workforce. Access to the digital world also helps people access new resources online, like learning apps, digital certificates and much more, which you can also take from the comfort of your student housing, helping people realise their whole potential while upskilling.

How can you upskill digitally? 

Digital upskilling refers to using digital tools like learning apps and online courses and acquiring the knowledge to learn and adapt digital skills in a rapidly evolving digital world. With the ease of digital learning, you can upskill yourself and expand your skillsets to become valuable to the evolving job market. 

Here are some ways to try: 

1. Make a plan for yourself 

Getting started with upskilling can be chaotic since you may only sometimes know where to start. So, make a personal and professional plan for yourself that will function as your upskilling blueprint. Find out what skills are in demand and the job roles around these skills. Make a list of the skills you want to learn and look for online courses to help you understand and eventually practice the skill. 

2. Take online courses 

After you have found the online courses for the skills you are interested in, start taking them on your own pace. While some courses may be free online, others may require you to pay for them. So, choose wisely! 

3. Learn soft skills 

While we learn many hard skills during our academic and initial professional phases, many of us might miss out on mastering soft skills. Soft skills like communication, leadership, time management etc., may not look that important, but they are essential for a successful professional career. Soft skills are very important when it comes to collaborating and working with others. So learning these skills can do wonders for your professional life and upskill you simultaneously. 

4. Make use of microlearning 

As an adult, balancing your work and life while trying to learn new skills can be very difficult. This is where microlearning comes along. Many online courses are available as microlearning modules which can be easier to learn as you go along with your daily tasks and responsibilities. These bite-sized modules may be text-based or videos with a quiz or worksheet attached to help you exercise what you have just learned from the module. 

What are the benefits of digital upskilling? 

With evolving technology, new job roles are popping up everywhere. Companies worldwide are looking for individuals with the right skill sets to fill these new job roles and positions. Digitally upskilling can help you make the most out of such opportunities. 

Here are some very major benefits of digital upskilling: 

• It offers you depth knowledge of your chosen field so you can expand your horizons and do better at your job. 
• It increases your chances of getting employed and taking up modern job roles that need a niche set of skills.
• Gives you the scope to change your job and try something new. 
• You learn more skills and thus stand out from the crowd. 
• It makes you future-proof and irreplaceable in the job market since you have multiple skill sets allowing you to work in different industries. 

What are some courses and tools you can pursue digitally? 

Some courses that you can pursue digitally are –

• Online Degrees: Many universities offer full-time and part-time online degrees that you can pursue at your convenience. 
• Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs): MOOCs are free online courses offered by top universities and institutions, which can be pursued on platforms like Coursera and udacity. 
• Certifications: Many professional certifications can be obtained online, including project management, digital marketing, and IT.

Some tools you can pursue digitally include – 

• Programming languages: You can learn Java, C++, and HTML/CSS online on websites specialising in programming languages or Udemy and FreeCodeCamp. 
• Design Software: Adobe Creative Suite – Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Figma, and Sketch are some of the most popular design software that can be learned online. 
• Project management tools: Tools like Asana, Trello, and JIRA are commonly used in project management and can be learned online through websites like LinkedIn Learning and Udemy.

Conclusion 

Upskilling digitally is extremely important in this day and age, and can be extremely helpful in building your resume and finding better career prospects, or just upgrading your knowledge. 

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Author’s Bio: Madhura Ballal plays many roles- a cat person, a food lover, an avid marketer, and a postgraduate from the National University of Singapore. You can find her painting, doing yoga, and spending time with her friends when she’s not playing one of the most critical roles that she has taken on- writing.