Reskilling vs Upskilling: Which Does Your Business Need?

In today’s fast-changing workplace, one thing is clear: skills matter more than ever.

Technology, automation, and new business models are changing how we work.

Companies around the world are trying to keep up. The World Economic Forum reports that 85% of businesses plan to invest in training. This means they will focus on on-the-job learning over the next five years. Companies across the world are racing to keep up.

Here in the Middle East, governments are also pushing hard on this agenda. Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia are investing in programmes to help local people build skills for the future.

When preparing your workforce, should you focus on reskilling or upskilling? Let’s break it down.

What is upskilling?

Upskilling means giving employees extra skills so they can do their current job better and grow in the same career path.

For example:

• A sales manager learning how to tell stories with data.
• A finance executive learning advanced Excel and automation tools.

These new skills do not change the person’s job, but they help them work more effectively and stay ready for the future. Upskilling builds stronger skills in the same job. But 20% of managers do not focus on it, according to People Management.

Benefits of upskilling

There are many benefits of upskilling. They include:

• Better productivity and efficiency.
• Fostering a culture of continuous learning.
• Stronger employee job satisfaction, engagement and motivation.
• Career growth and better succession planning.
• Staying relevant and remaining competitive in a rapidly changing job market.

What is reskilling?

Reskilling means learning completely new skills to move into a different job or career path.

For example:

• An admin can learn RPA (automation) and become an RPA manager.
• A customer service agent can move to a digital customer support job.
• A customer service worker can learn coding and become a junior developer.
• A bank teller can study cybersecurity and work in risk and compliance (keeping the bank safe).
• A marketing assistant can learn data skills and become a data analyst.

Reskilling means learning new skills to move into another job when your current job changes or disappears.

Benefits of reskilling

Reskilling comes with multiple benefits, for example, you can:

• Move employees from jobs that are shrinking into jobs that are growing.
• Save money by avoiding job cuts and make the team more flexible.
• Help the company and workers stay strong when industries change.

Reskilling vs upskilling: when to choose each

It can be hard to know what to choose. Here’s an easy guide:

Choose upskilling if:

• Your company is starting to use new technology.
• You want current staff to work faster or better.
• You only need to fix small but important skill gaps.

Choose reskilling if:

• Some jobs are disappearing.
• Your company is entering a new industry or changing how it does business.
• Local rules (like Emiratisation or Saudisation) mean you need to shift people into new roles.

Skills in demand for 2025 and beyond

Whether you are reskilling or upskilling, some skills are becoming more important than ever. Some of the most important include:

• AI and automation literacy – understanding how to use AI tools.
• Data and analytics skills – being able to interpret and present data.
• Cybersecurity awareness – protecting company and customer information.
• Sustainability and ESG reporting – meeting new compliance and reporting requirements.
• Human skills – communication, problem-solving, and adaptability, which become more important than technical skills.

Regional momentum in the Middle East

The Middle East is at the forefront of large-scale reskilling and upskilling efforts:

• UAE National Programme for Coders. It aims to train 100,000 coders and create 1,000 digital companies within five years.
• NAFIS (UAE). It is a government program with AED 24 billion set aside. The goal is to place 75,000 Emiratis in private sector jobs by 2025. It is supported by training and career development.
• Saudi Arabia’s Human Capability Development Programme (Vision 2030). It focuses on education reform, vocational training, and lifelong learning. It calls for a global summit in Riyadh to accelerate progress.

For businesses in the region, these initiatives are not just inspiring. They create real incentives and opportunities to align workforce training with national goals.

How to design effective programmes

No matter if you choose upskilling or reskilling, these tips will make training more effective:

• Check the skill gaps. Find out which jobs need upskilling and which need reskilling.
• Mix learning with practice. Use courses, coaching, mentoring, and real work projects together.
• Give small certificates. Offer short courses that add up to full qualifications.
• Involve managers. Ask team managers (not only HR) to support and track skill growth.
• Support internal moves. Show clear career paths so reskilled staff can move into new roles.

Measuring success and ROI

To prove the value of your programmes, track both short-term and long-term results:

• Leading indicators: course completions, skill assessments, certifications.
• Lagging indicators are results you can measure after a training and development program has been running for some time. Examples include:
  • How many employees were successfully moved into new roles (redeployment rates)
  • How many were promoted internally
  • How quickly employees became productive in their new role (time-to-productivity)
  • How long employees stayed with the company (retention)
  • How much money was saved compared to hiring from outside

Even simple numbers—like the percentage of open jobs filled by existing employees—can clearly show the business impact.

Risks and pitfalls to avoid

Not every initiative delivers results. Watch out for these common mistakes:

• Treating reskilling as “training only” without creating real career pathways.
• Running one-off workshops with no reinforcement.
• Overlooking local policy requirements such as Emiratisation quotas or available government funding.

Reskilling vs upskilling – a quick comparison

Conclusion

The difference between reskilling and upskilling is simple. One helps employees do their current job better, the other helps them move into a new job altogether.

Both are essential in today’s business environment, especially in the Middle East. It is here that national transformation programmes are in full swing.

For organisations, the key is to match the right approach to the right situation and to measure the results. Investing in people is the smartest strategy for long-term success.

It does not matter if you are preparing staff for AI, building data literacy, or opening new career pathways.

Want to close skills gaps in your organisation? Our customised training programmes help Middle East businesses prepare for the future. Book a free skills gap assessment today.