Reskilling and upskilling: The Secret Sauce of Learning in 2021

Meghna, a proficient data analyst took a 2-year break from her work. On resuming, she realized the technology has moved further ahead than she had expected and there was a lot to catch up and learn. She knew it’s time to upskill or perish. She started following the video tutorials, and did an extensive crash course to fill up the gap. Theoretically, she was ready to take up projects but her manager was still not confident about it. Why?

According to the poll survey by Nuvepro at the SHRM conference, on-the-job training is the dominant mode of skilling in an organization followed by self-paced learning. Even though MOOCs are booming, it does not provide the experience that hands-on learning does. 

But what she did next made her a proficient data analyst once again. But the question is what did she do? What is the secret sauce?

What is the secret sauce to technical skilling in 2021?

The IT industry is dealing with unprecedented technical challenges and there has been a dramatic shift in reskilling and upskilling from in-person (or physical) to virtual processes. With the increased attention to people resources, the learning and Development team (L&D) needs to take a more strategic and proactive role to ensure holistic development.

According to the Talent LMS survey, 66% of employees ranked the joy of learning new things and developing new skills as the top upskilling motivator. What is it that your organization does differently when it comes to practical training? Are you upskilling your technical team right?

“Hands-on labs is a futuristic product,”

This is what we thought but the head start the world got in 2020 has changed numerous concepts for us. Entering into digital 4.0 became seamless and instant, thus pushing the need for cloud labs for skilling purposes. We, at Nuvepro, have seen an increased demand for cloud computing, machine learning, DevOps, and cybersecurity labs.

Hands-on labs are the secret sauce in making success in 2021

Meghna became one of the users of Nuvepro’s hands-on labs to practice her learning in a real-time setting to make use of what she learnt about machine learning. This made her proficient, and confident and the doubt that her manager had was removed too.

Especially when it comes to technical skilling, the newly acquired skills are not an end-of-program objective, but it needs to be showcased in the form of continuous and productive engagement. Thus, hands-on learning and practical training naturally become mandatory.

Sitting from the comfort of their homes and getting an even better practical experience on the technical side, who would have ever thought that? Cloud-based virtual labs are used worldwide, anywhere at any given time without the need for an IT team to install them on your computer. Exciting? Could you find out how it works, now? 

How to use the secret sauce, the cloud labs to your benefit?

Broadly speaking, there are 3 types of labs provided for different purposes:

1. Playground labs: Start with a ready sandbox, play around with the tools, and take the help of an instructor when needed.
2. Guided labs: Watch, learn and implement.
3. Challenge labs: Challenge yourself and see how quickly and efficiently you can get things done!

If you are someone like Meghna or a team lead who is looking to upskill and be delivery ready, this is for you!

Each of these labs has a solution for the different training solutions your team needs. A leader always has a sense of the realities on the ground and a vision to enhance the learning experience and utilise the existing resources further. Are you providing the learning your team needs?

In the next post, we will talk about how the labs can be used for all your technical needs like technical hiring, promotions, training etc. Till then, tell us what you need and get the latest labs here!