Cartoon Coffee Break: Transferable Skills

Editor's Note: This post is part of our "Cartoon Coffee Break" series. While we take talent management seriously, we also know it's important to have a good laugh. Check back regularly for a new ReWork cartoon.

COVID-19 has immensely impacted the economy, with many jobs lost (temporarily or permanently) and consumer demand at an all-time low. The federal government has been instrumental in providing unemployment benefits to laid-off workers, but it has done very little to entice and train unemployed workers to switch over to understaffed sectors of the economy.

Across the Atlantic, the Swedish government has created short training programs for airline workers and attendants who have lost their jobs in the pandemic that help them learn the skills necessary to support nurses and doctors.

In order to survive this current crisis—and prepare for its economic consequences—employees and employers must prioritize reskilling. The process of doing so will be lengthy: Companies have to clearly identify their needs, pinpoint the workers who already have transferable skills that could be applied to another economic sector and then launch programs that help people adopt these new roles.

For more information on the importance of reskilling in today’s economy and how to get started, check out this recent article from the ReWork editors.