5 Simple Ways to Upskill on a Budget

Building robust upskilling strategies is a key priority for learning and development (L&D) teams. However, we’re currently seeing a reluctancy from employers to invest in these strategies due to ongoing economic challenges, including the cost-of-living crisis, which has made it difficult for organisations to be proactive.

However, if employers wish to remain competitive, it’s crucial to invest in training and development so they can engage, retain, and develop their employees in an evolving professional landscape. If your organisation needs upskilling but doesn’t have the means to do so with all the bells and whistles, here are five simple ways to upskill employees on a budget.

Why is upskilling important?

Before investing in upskilling, it’s essential to understand its impact on employees and the workplace. This approach not only helps in setting clear objectives but also allows you to manage expectations, mitigate potential risks, and, most importantly, budget effectively. In today’s evolving market, upskilling is especially vital for a variety of reasons, including:

The workplace landscape requires adaptability

With major changes happening in the workplace, like hybrid and remote work models and the introduction of agile processes, it’s no wonder that adaptability is emerging as a critical skill for employees. A recent McKinsey report even predicts that “eight out of the ten top skills future workers will need are soft skills, like adaptability” as these shifts continue.

By investing in upskilling, employees are better equipped to embrace new roles, tools, or responsibilities, enabling them to pivot quickly and maintain productivity under changing conditions.

AI is swiftly becoming the new norm

Government research has confirmed that at least one in six organisations within the UK have adopted at least one AI technology, which totals to 432,000 companies. Given that AI is in full swing in the workplace, employees need to feel both comfortable and equipped in their ability to work with these tools effectively.

With five generations currently in the workplace and AI operating across a number of different departments, AI has been built to work alongside employees, specifically focusing on augmenting human intelligence and simplifying ways of working.

For this to work well, however, employees need to know how to work in conjunction with new technologies – and can only do so through effective training to close skills gaps.

Employee engagement is still essential

By investing in employee development and offering employees autonomy over their learning, organisations can significantly enhance feelings of empowerment and job satisfaction.

When employees are actively engaged in their own upskilling journey, they can gain the specific knowledge and skills necessary to excel in their fields. This increased confidence empowers them to make informed business decisions and fosters greater self-sufficiency.

Employee engagement is also crucial for effective upskilling, especially in companies with high turnover rates. This is because engaged employees are more likely to stay with the company, contributing to a more stable and productive workforce.

Industry trends are rapidly evolving

Staying on top of what can feel like a new industry trend every week can feel unachievable, expensive and resource heavy. However, remaining competitive and therefore able to keep up to date with these trends, is something continuous professional development aids significantly.

Upskilling in business ensures employees are not only likely to be aware of current and upcoming trends, through enhanced industry knowledge but will also be much better equipped to manage company transformations, both current and future.

An example would be the increased use digital tools and artificial intelligence in the workplace. While a transformative trend initially, workplaces are continuing to adopt a variety of new technologies to both aid and enhance their business capabilities and will continue to. This essentially creates a need for employees to be upskilled, otherwise running the risk of businesses becoming outdated and technologically deficit.

How can businesses upskill their employees on a budget?

1) Shadowing and mentoring

When it comes to upskilling, one of the most budget friendly things that you can do, is utilise the tools and skills that you already have. One of the best ways to do this is to create mentoring and shadowing programmes using your current staff. By creating opportunities where employees can learn from one another is a resourceful and interactive way to internally upskill. For those who learn particularly well from ‘doing’ or ‘watching’, shadowing allows employees to learn exactly what the day to day of a job entails in a one-on-one setting.

This approach not only provides deeper insights into the industry and company culture, but also strengthens junior employees' chances of internal promotion and career advancement, all while minimising costs associated with external hires.

2) Job rotation

Job rotation offers employees the chance to explore different departments and take on various roles without altering their hierarchy or salary. This process involves transferring employees into existing roles and allows for a non-permanent arrangement, meaning employees can rotate between positions or return to their original roles after a set period.

However, it’s important to note that job rotation can come with its disadvantages, like distressed employees and low morale due to adjustment issues or lack of cohesion and stability. To prevent issues, a job rotation policy should be in place to prioritise employee buy-in and ensure a positive experience for all involved.

3) Free or affordable e-learning courses

The increased availability of free online learning courses has really changed the game for those looking to upskill, with an abundance of content and knowledge literally at your fingertips. Depending on industry and the skills employees need to learn, organisations can find both full comprehensive courses as well as smaller, bite-size ones online. Many of these courses are accredited and offer a certificate upon completion as well to endorse learners.

Some of the most popular platforms for affordable online learning, include:

• Alison: focusing on subjects like language, engineering & construction, personal development and teaching and academics.
  
  
• The Open University: focusing on subjects like health, sports & psychology, as well as money & business and history & the arts.
  
  
• Free Courses Online: focusing on subjects like mental health, business and digital skills. 

In some cases, free training may also be included in any platforms or packages you may have already purchased as a company, so don’t forget to check and make use of these free opportunities!

4) Create spaces and opportunities for employees to learn from each other

An environment in which employees feel empowered and encourage to learn, upskill and progress is something that senior leadership teams need to actively create and maintain. Put simply, employees aren’t going to seek opportunities to do their job better for a company that doesn’t support their development.

If you want your employees to upskill and learn from each other, support the creation of:

• Lunch and learn workshops: have any member of staff lead a small workshop in which they delve into a skill, platform or subject, while socialising and having lunch.
  
  
• Knowledge and internal skill swapping sessions: making sure the swap is fair and both parties’ benefit, two employees will pick a skill each that they would like to teach the other.
  
  
• Senior coaching hours: every week, encourage a senior leader to spend an hour with someone more junior to them to coach them on work-related task or simply talk about their future career goals and aspirations.
  
  
• Ensure your office space is set up for learning: open plan offices, break out areas and accessible meeting rooms are all physical factors that support collaboration.

5) Recycle training initiatives that currently exist

Instead of reinventing the wheel, it can be highly cost effective to look at the foundations that already exist within your company and then build upon them. Unless you’re a brand-new start-up, you are likely to have had some kind of training and development initiatives in place.

While they may not be individual personalised learning plans, but they are a good starting point in which you can then focus on adding more information about newer workplace technologies and trends. You can also simply change the format of any traditional learning materials, turning theory-based text packs into webinars or cutting down larger topics and theories into more manageable weekly sessions.

It’s also worth asking your workforce for their input when recycling and updating training initiatives, focusing on the skills and knowledge that they would like to develop. In the long run, this is likely to be much more cost effective than starting from scratch.

Finding the balance when budgets are tight

Training and development opportunities may be among the first to get cut in a business when budgets are tight, however, it’s one of the worst things that organisations can do for their most important assets: their people. Thankfully, learning and development initiatives can be adapted to what you can afford as a company with a little strategic planning.

To ensure you’re making the most of upskilling on a budget, it’s vital to assess your current skills gaps carefully, before the development of any training programmes. This will not only help you identify the key areas to focus on, but it will also ensure any available budget and resources don’t go to waste.

Enhance your organisations L&D training with a professional CIPD qualification today.