How and Why You Need To Pick Up New Skills to Remain Relevant in the Workforce

For many of us, the pandemic became a wake-up call to rethink what's happening in our careers.

Even if we were in stable jobs, they could easily be derailed by an unpredictable, global event.

Personal trainer Mr Benjamin Lam discovered the importance of having a wide range of skills during the pandemic. Circuit breaker compelled him to conduct his classes virtually, while learning how to market his classes online and create publicity materials.

In an interview with The Straits Times, Benjamin shared how he at first didn't feel the urgency to upgrade himself but was forced to adjust due to Covid-19.

"Because of that, I'm working on all the other things I'd been procrastinating on like social media marketing and creating posters," he said.

Here's why broadening your skills is crucial

Like how we ought to diversify our investment portfolios instead of putting all our eggs in the same basket, we need to increase our skillsets to hedge against events we cannot control.

What this means is to add more skills to your toolbox, so that when the need calls for it, you can pivot easily. It doesn't mean you're moving towards being a jack of all trades but master of none.

Learning new skills that are outside of your comfort zone allows you to solve issues across disciplines — which is one of the key skills necessary to thrive in the future of work.

In fact, for some, mastering a new skill can lead to another prospective income stream.

This need for skills diversity is the reason why the National University of Singapore has set up the College of Humanities and Sciences. Its aim is to provide students interdisciplinary education for the future, breaking students out of silos.

NUS president Professor Tan Eng Chye explained: "Graduates into the workforce will need breadth of knowledge, depth, as well as the ability to integrate multiple disciplines to solve complex problems.”

So how should you expand your skills?

Before you think about expanding your skills, take a step back to audit your abilities. This helps you better construct your career goals, both long and short-term ones, as well as how you want to achieve them.

Start by figuring out your interests and career priorities.

After which, identify what skills you want to achieve that are in a domain unrelated to your existing skills. Consider which are some of the in-demand skills that match your interests, which you could take on to future-proof your career.

Thereafter, make plans to start acquiring these skills so that you can adapt to future changes at work.

Don't forget, it's not just about hard skills

Transferable soft skills, such as creative problem solving and diplomacy, continue to be key assets to companies.

And the good news is that there are plenty of courses that can help you build them.

Use your Skillsfuture Credits on a wide range of paid courses on MySkillsFuture. Or you can also access paid courses through platforms like LinkedIn Learning, Udemy, and edX by Harvard University.

There are, of course, free courses on platforms such as Coursera too.
After you have completed the necessary courses, highlight your achievements in your resume and LinkedIn profile. This doesn't only add to your skills repository, but it also demonstrates your proactiveness to prospective employers.

As the world and its market economy continues to change and evolve rapidly, remaining relevant for the long haul means to continuously acquire varied skill sets.

And it could certainly help us progress as individuals in our professional careers.

If you're looking for more career advice, visit MyCareersFuture for articles to help you on your career journey.

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