Part 2: Utilizing Lockdown Solitude for Upskilling

In our previous blog, we have tried to shed some light on what remote working feels like and question if it is promoting loneliness amongst the workers or not. Debatable as it is, but being alone does not necessarily mean that you are lonely.

It is not okay to blend the ideas of loneliness and solitude. When asked to pick from the two, irrespective of whatever you chose, the present scenario will not permit you to go out in the open, so remote working is the only recourse.

So, why not make this work from home all about solitude and start picking up skills that a post-COVID business world will demand?

Like every new venture needs extensive research and study before its commencement, this upskilling that we are talking about is no different. So, knowing which skills are burgeoning their demands and which are shrinking in the present market are indeed important.

5 skills that are gaining momentum –

• Managing Strategy and Innovation
• Managing Tools and Technology
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning/Motivation/Leadership
• Knowledge of Tech/Product Design/Production

5 skills that are losing vitality –

• Managing Administrative Activities
• Managing the Task Environment
• Operations Skills
• Knowledge of Media Communications/Delivery
• Knowledge of Human Behavior/Society

Upskilling is a pressing priority.

Upskilling alone holds the ability to push you ahead in your game. The fast-approaching business world will demand entrepreneurial skills from every professional, so that lay-offs are avoided, and they become more reliable and competitive.

Technologies, namely Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Science, Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain, Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Virtual Reality (VR) and, Edge Computing, are in high demand today. And this demand is only about to increase in the post-COVID world. Upskilling will be a great help to professionals then. It will accentuate them with resilience and agility, the two most important needs of a fiercely competitive tomorrow.

Instead of perceiving the coronavirus-induced work from home as loneliness, the solitude of remote working should be utilized to polish your proficiencies further, and what better than online learning in this regard? The inability to do so will prove to be seriously detrimental to your career.

One advantage here is that the providers of online learning are well-equipped with various capabilities and resources to predict business demands and mold their programs accordingly.

So, in preparing yourself for the post-COVID era working, upskilling is the first requirement. Now, which new skill should you take up will rely on your job requirements and your self-awareness and research too.

Wait no more and take up a new professional skill ASAP, in case you still have not. And if you have already taken up one or more, then utilize this lockdown and hone yourself to be the winner in your genre(s)!