Upskilling and Reskilling for a VUCA World: Organizational Sense-Response Framework

Achoki, Philip Mong’are (2023) Upskilling and Reskilling for a VUCA World: Organizational Sense-Response Framework. GILE JOURNAL OF SKILLS DEVELOPMENT, 3 (2). pp. 34-52. ISSN 2732-3781

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Abstract

Organisations operate in a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous (VUCA) world punctuated by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. Recent technological developments have given rise to new jobs, demands, products, processes, work arrangements, and methods of service delivery, thus significantly disrupting workplaces and creating a need for new workplace skills. There is a growing anticipation of “new normals” characterised by skills revolutions, among other factors. Such a context poses serious challenges to human resource management in regard to developing and maintaining a competitive advantage amidst volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. This theoretical study aimed to assess the need for upskilling and reskilling and propose an organisational sense-response framework for upskilling and reskilling in a VUCA business world. The findings show that for any organisation to ensure sustainability in the VUCA world, it must focus on its most valuable asset— its people. Organisations need to develop employees’ skills based on organisational objectives strategically. In such a dynamic world, people require competencies in different skills, including but not limited to technological skills, self-management skills, social and cross- cultural skills, cognitive skills, entrepreneurial skills, and mastery of 21st-century inter- disciplinary themes to exhibit good performance. Therefore, the future of work will likely focus on continuous upskilling and reskilling people to thrive amidst constant disruptions. The proposed framework shows that organisations need sensing and response capabilities to thrive amidst rapid change, especially in the external environment. The sensing capability ensures that organisations continually maintain awareness of external threats or opportunities. The response capability, on the other hand, ensures that organisations can determine how best they can adapt to changes after assessing the relevance of those changes to their organisations’ current situations and long-term strategic objectives, as well as the possible benefits and threats of those changes.

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