Should companies be responsible for 'reskilling' employees?

When it comes to career management there are two kinds of organizations; those who provide training to their staff based on perceived organizational needs for particular roles and those firms which leave training and personal development completely up to their staff. Quite often though, even for the companies providing training and development, the focus is on the present needs rather than anticipated future requirements - both at organizational and individual levels. Therefore the entire aspect of personal and future development is not comprehensively forward looking.

So the day comes when the organizational identifies the fact that the role you are currently undertaking either is no longer necessary or that the skill and knowledge requirements are now different from what they used to be. For one reason or another, and quite strangely I believe, more and more often this is occurring with little or no advance warning. I get to thinking shouldn't the organization be in a better position to offer their staff advice in respect to the future of their role and the skills and knowledge they must obtain? If cannot do this then I get to thinking that organizations do not know their business well enough - but then who is in a position to assist you from a professional development point of view?

Any company should be up to date on what is happening in its industry and anticipate future market changes, demands and personnel needs. Resources must be allocated to this responsibility and the role of a 'futurist' or future strategy think-tank should be employed for this very purpose. Whilst individuals might think they know best in how to progress their personal development, professional development requires more of a holistic view of the market including the demand and supply of skills and knowledge, along with the setup and running of training programs themselves. In very much the same way universities take research on course and program content and development, companies must take on the same responsibility for their personnel simply because they are best placed to do so.

It is no excuse for any organisation to make redundant thousands of staff for the sake of shareholder value when they know their workers may not have the skills to transfer to supply shortages elsewhere in the economy. Resource reallocation of human assets, otherwise known as redundancy, can be good for society as it takes resources from areas where it is not needed to areas where it is. However companies need to assist, even cross industry, to make this happen otherwise the process becomes a huge negative on how we manage our resources and individuals' quality of life.

What does 'being an expert' truly mean?

We have all heard the term 'expert' mentioned countless times whether being applied to investing, health, fitness, relationship, politics, career etc. These 'experts' are seen to be the best of the best in their particular field and are turned to provide the best or most appropriate answers or solutions to any related matters. They are also paid the most to provide their time and knowledge.

But what does being an 'expert' truly mean?

Does it mean the most education or the one who knows the most, the one who can best apply their knowledge to real life situations, the one with the best results? Or does it simply mean the one who has convinced the most people that they are indeed an expert?

There are a lot of people who claim to be experts in their field who indeed have not proven that they indeed even an good at that they do. Most television experts are not experts but they have created a brand that makes them appear to be an expert to the public. This leads to TV ratings and thus their brand is sustained. Many financial and investment experts are not personally successful but through clever marketing appeal to the public's perception of what an expert is and thus become experts. Sports commentators are not necessarily experts on sport or politicians on politics. Sportspeople are good at a single role in a sport not all roles and politicians are not experts in politics simply because they were in politics. Real estate agents are again not necessarily experts in valuing a property but perhaps very good at sales.

The point I'm trying to make is don't be fooled by people who claim to be 'experts'. Whilst some truly are (though there is no set definition or classification) many are self proclaimed and are experts through clever PR and marketing. My advice before hiring an experts is to do your own reseach (DYOR) and see if it compares to that of an expert....it might only be the difference between yourself and an expert is reading a couple of pages of a book!