Reference no: EM133039890

Topics: Employment, Labor Markets 

Summary; Why don't companies retrain and retain employees instead of having layoffs and new hires? Layoffs and buyouts can be disruptive and costly. Companies may decide not to retrain employees because they don't have a sense of what their workers' capabilities. It also takes time and money to migrate large numbers of employees to new positions. Retention and retraining can be a hard sell to shareholders. It is easier for shareholders to understand simultaneous layoffs and followed by new hires. It is difficult to understand the benefits of resource-intensive retraining. Shareholders see the cost savings but can overlook that fresh talent is also expensive. Layoffs can incur large costs due to restructuring, and they cause upheaval. There are several examples of companies committed to the concept of upskilling, reskilling, retraining and new-skilling. Amazon has a 16-week certification program to train fulfillment-center employees as data technicians. JPMorgan Chase & Co. is working to determine emerging skills and create training programs. It is also rolling out a "skills passport" to help workers review their skills, find career opportunities and take the training. At&T had 180,000 workers participate in its Future Ready program. They can assess their skills, earn short-term badges, earns nano degrees or a master's degree in computer or data science. The U.S. government has a different approach to education than other countries that support initiatives to invest in training and retraining. Successful training needs to be short and provide a return on investment to workers and companies.

Questions:

1. (Introductory) What are some terms for reskilling? What are examples of what that means?

2. (Introductory) Define the term "human capital" and discuss why it is both important, but hard to measure.