Dictionary

reskill en · VERB

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Italic *wre- Latin re-der. Old French re-bor. Middle English re- English re- Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- Proto-Germanic *skilją Old Norse skilbor. Middle English skill English skill English reskill From re- + skill.

Meanings

1. (ambitransitive) To retrain workers in the skills needed by modern business, especially after redundancy.
   • As the types of skills needed in the labour market change rapidly, individual workers will have to engage in life-long learning if they are to remain not just employable but are to achieve fulfilling and rewarding careers that allow them to maximize their employment opportunities. For companies, reskilling and upskilling strategies will be critical if they are to find the talent they need and to contribute to socially responsible approaches to the future of work. 2018 January, “Towards a Reskilling Revolution: A Future of Jobs”, in World Economic Forum:
   • There are plenty of stories of successful reskilling — optimists often cite a program in Kentucky that trained a small group of former coal miners to become computer programmers — but there is little evidence that it works at scale. 2019 January 25, Kevin Roose, “The Hidden Automation Agenda of the Davos Elite”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
   • In the existing work force also, not only among the new entrants, we are caught up in a treadmill of retraining, reskilling, retooling the current work force for job descriptions that are as narrow and as shortsighted as the ones they have just come from. 1989 April 16, Joseph Michalak, Stephen S. Pickering, Louis Uchitelle, quoting Harris L. Sussman, “Experts Divided On Jobs in the 90's”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
2. (ambitransitive) To learn additional skills.
   • To maintain relevance and sustain marketable skills, IT professionals must reskill and reskill and reskill. 2015, Richard Eleftherios Boyatzis, Kylie Rochford, Scott N. Taylor, editors, The Impact of Shared Vision on Leadership, Engagement, Organizational Citizenship and Coaching, page 145:

Forms

Relateds

deskill · skill up · upskill