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What is upskilling?

HR & Workforce Planning

Upskilling is short-term, targeted training that adds to, improves, or updates the skills employees already use, usually so they can do their current work better or take on more. Reskilling is training that gives people new skills for a different occupation or new professional activities. Both help organizations close skills gaps with the people they already employ.

How upskilling is defined

Cedefop, the European Union's agency for vocational education and training, defines upskilling as "Short-term targeted training typically provided following initial education or training, and aimed at supplementing, improving or updating knowledge, skills and competences." It defines retraining, or reskilling, as "Training enabling individuals to acquire new skills giving access either to a new occupation or to new professional activities." Cedefop notes that each term is close to, but not synonymous with, the other.

Upskilling vs. reskilling: The difference is the destination. Upskilling deepens or updates skills for the same line of work, such as a recruiter learning a new sourcing method. Reskilling prepares someone for different work, such as a support specialist training for a data analyst role. The World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2025 draws a similar line when it separates workers who could be "upskilled in their current roles" from those who "could be upskilled and redeployed elsewhere within their organization."

Common formats: An OECD report on skills-first approaches points to flexible learning pathways such as microcredentials, online courses, and workplace training. Inside organizations, upskilling also happens through stretch assignments, mentoring, and certifications.

Why upskilling matters for talent teams

The World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2025 surveyed more than 1,000 employers representing more than 14 million workers in 55 economies. It reported that:

  • On average, workers can expect 39% of their existing skill sets to be transformed or become outdated over the 2025 to 2030 period.
  • If the world's workforce were 100 people, 59 would need training by 2030. Employers foresee that 29 could be upskilled in their current roles and 19 could be upskilled and redeployed elsewhere in their organization, while 11 would be unlikely to receive the training they need.
  • 63% of employers see skill gaps as a major barrier to business transformation, and 85% plan to prioritize upskilling their workforce.

For talent teams, upskilling is one way to close a gap. The others include hiring people who already have the skill, moving people internally, and bringing in contractors. A skills gap analysis shows where the gaps are, and a shared skills taxonomy keeps the skills named the same way in job requirements, employee profiles, and training content.

How Findem approaches upskilling

Findem is the People Intelligence Platform. Findem's learning and development capabilities map a workforce's actual capabilities, identify gaps, and build targeted development programs. Findem connects employees to upskilling and reskilling paths, onboarding tracks, and certifications drawn from a skills-based content library, and employees can self-select strengths and desired growth areas to shape their own paths.

AI-proctored certifications produce verified completion records, and skills developed internally can feed back into workforce planning and internal mobility decisions. Findem integrates with LMS, LXP, CRM, and BI tools.

Findem's post on the ROI of AI in talent acquisition frames upskilling as one of several ways to close a gap, alongside hiring, internal mobility, and contracting. Skills intelligence helps teams choose among them.

Further reading

Related terms

Sources

Frequently asked questions.

Upskilling adds to or updates the skills someone already uses in their line of work. Reskilling gives someone new skills for a different occupation or new professional activities. Cedefop defines both and notes that the terms are close but not synonymous.

A recruiter learning a new sourcing method, an analyst learning a new data tool, or a manager taking a coaching course are all upskilling. Common formats include microcredentials, online courses, workplace training, stretch assignments, mentoring, and certifications.

The World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2025 found that workers can expect 39% of their existing skill sets to be transformed or become outdated by 2030, and that 85% of surveyed employers plan to prioritize upskilling their workforce.

Start with a skills gap analysis that compares the skills your plans require with the skills your people have today. A shared skills taxonomy keeps those skills named consistently across job requirements, employee profiles, and training content, so the gaps are easier to see.

Findem's learning and development capabilities map a workforce's actual capabilities, identify gaps, and connect employees to upskilling and reskilling paths, onboarding tracks, and certifications. Skills developed internally can feed back into workforce planning and internal mobility decisions.