The role of GPT in upskilling and reskilling employees: Using chatbots to support continuous learning and development in the workplace Abhishek Shanbhag April 17, 2023

The role of GPT in upskilling and reskilling employees: Using chatbots to support continuous learning and development in the workplace

The role of GPT in upskilling and reskilling employees featured image

As the world continues to make the digital transition, the need for upskilling and reskilling employees to keep up with the constant developments has become more important than ever.

To remain competitive, organizations must be able to adapt to new technologies and ways for enhanced operations. Besides infrastructure and cutting-edge resources, this means that organizations need to invest in the development of their employees.

Chatbots powered by artificial intelligence is a powerful tool that can substantially support continuous learning and development in the workplace.

Upskilling and Reskilling in the Digital Age

With the rapid pace of technological shift, simply possessing skills that employees can rely on for the rest of their lives is not sufficient. Instead, employees must be resilient and prepared to continually learn and adapt to new technologies and ways of working. This is where upskilling and reskilling come in.

Upskilling refers to the process of learning new skills that are relevant to a person’s current job or field of work. For example, a video editor needs to be aware of the current technologies and tools to keep up with the quality of work that other professionals offer and to keep up with the employer’s expectations.

Reskilling involves learning new skills that are not directly related to a person’s current job, however; can prove to be complementary. For instance, video editors may opt to learn graphic design for a comprehensive and complementary skillset.

The Importance of Continuous Learning and Development

By investing in the development of their employees, organizations can ensure that they have the skills and knowledge necessary to remain competitive in their industry. Additionally, offering opportunities for learning and development can help to improve employee engagement and retention.

However, implementing a comprehensive upskilling and reskilling strategy may turn out to be tricky. This can be because, it might not always be possible to assess the skills that employees need to learn, or how to deliver training that is engaging and continues to be fruitful in the long run. This is where AI chatbots can be impactful in designing the learning journey.

Using Chatbots to Support Upskilling and Reskilling

Chatbots are computer programs that use artificial intelligence to interact with people via chat interfaces. Besides team-led tasks such as customer service operations, AI chatbots can be used for employee training and development.

A considerable way that AI chatbots can support employee upskilling and reskilling is by acting as virtual assistants for employees. Some key examples include programming a chatbot to remind employees of a training module completion or to suggest relevant learning opportunities based on their job roles and skills.

Chatbots can also be used to deliver training content more engagingly and interactively for high knowledge retention and real-life applicability. A chatbot could guide employees through a virtual training module, asking questions and providing feedback along the way.

Capturing Knowledge with GPT

To create effective chatbots for upskilling and reskilling, it’s important to have a database of knowledge to draw from. This is where GPT, or Generative Pre-trained Transformer, steps into the picture.

GPT is an artificial intelligence that is used for multiple time-consuming and trivial tasks. It works by analyzing large amounts of text data and using the information to generate new text that is similar in style and content.

By feeding training materials and job descriptions into GPT, companies can create a knowledge base that can be used to power chatbots for upskilling and reskilling. GPT can also be accessed to create a chatbot that can answer employees’ questions about specific topics, such as a new software program.

The Future of Upskilling and Reskilling

The need for upskilling and reskilling is not just consistent but indispensable, as technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace.

This means that companies must be prepared to continually invest in the development of their employees to remain competitive. What’s more, is that the consistent adoption of technology makes workplace learning even more fruitful and impactful.

Furthermore, technological intervention in multiple job roles has made it even more important for employees to keep themselves relevant during the current times. This may pave the way for a renewed line of employment that works alongside robots and automated systems, or the development of additional skills that haven’t resurfaced yet. Additionally, soft skills in a workplace can also gain importance as AI will take care of the hard skills to get the job done.

As machines become more adept at performing technical tasks, there will be an increasing demand for workers who have strong interpersonal and communication skills. This means that employees will need to focus on developing skills such as emotional intelligence, teamwork, and leadership to remain competitive.

The role of chatbots powered by artificial intelligence is likely to become even more important in the future of upskilling and reskilling. As technology continues to evolve, chatbots will become even more cutting-edge, and sophisticated and will continue to provide personalized and effective support for employee development. Being able to provide instant performance feedback or suggesting personalized learning opportunities based on an employee’s individual needs and interests can lighten the burden for the HR team as well as free up time to make crucial and value-based decisions.

In a nutshell

Upskilling and reskilling are essential for employees and companies to remain competitive in the fast-paced digital age. Chatbots powered by artificial intelligence offer a promising solution for supporting continuous learning, growth, and development in the workplace. By using GPT to capture knowledge and create personalized chatbot interactions, companies can create effective upskilling and reskilling programs that help employees stay ahead of the curve.

As technology continues to evolve, upskilling and reskilling will continue to tap into various touchpoints in a workspace, and AI-led chatbots can only make the job a lot easier.