Tech Upskilling and The Great Resignation

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The year 2020 reshaped the world as we know it. You can try, but it will be hard to fathom an industry that was spared from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. From transportation to education and beyond, industries were transformed essentially overnight as the world fought to adjust to the new normal. While industries found ways to evolve, many employees have decided that a return to their pre-pandemic lives is not an option. Hence, The Great Resignation, a term used to describe the mass exodus of employees from the workplace due to COVID-19. Given the post-pandemic job market boom and increased flexibility in working conditions (i.e., remote delivery), employees are empowered with many more options that fit their new lifestyles curated by more than a year of working from home.

How can you defend your organization against this seemingly growing cultural phenomenon? One approach that we advocate for at Pivot Technology School is upskilling. With upskilling, businesses make investments that create opportunities for their employees to learn new skills. By training employees through internal programs, businesses are essentially developing the talent they’ll need for the future and communicating to their employees that they care about their growth. Overall, providing upskilling opportunities is a smart move from a talent retention perspective. Furthermore, upskilling can support talent acquisition efforts by creating an internal pipeline of desired skills.

How do you go about creating effective upskilling programs? The team at Pivot Technology School has developed an upskilling model that works, especially regarding developing talent from diverse backgrounds. For example, we’ve worked with the team at Birmingham-based Shipt, a national leader in same-day delivery services, to create an upskilling program focused on their unique software development stack. Through our partnership, we coordinated with Shipt’s technical team to tailor a program geared toward software skills training for 15 employees in their customer service center. As a bonus, Shipt offered full funding for 15 minority residents of Birmingham to learn entry-level software development, with hopes of bringing them on as full-time Shipt employees. We’ve also developed a similar program with Amazon, which provided 10 Nashville residents with an opportunity to gain software skills and exposure to technical roles at Amazon.

Is The Great Resignation real and can it impact your organization? The simple answer is yes. But if your organization is willing to invest, we have an upskilling strategy that works. Let Pivot Technology School be your talent development partner, and let’s curate an upskilling program that will signal to your employees that you are fully invested in their success within your organization. To learn more about how this can work for you, reach out to us at info@pivottechschool.com.