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It’s no secret that jobs are becoming more automated and digitized all the time. There are self-checkout lines in every grocery store, we bank online, and we can order our food through an app without ever speaking to another human.  But these aren’t the only jobs at risk.  Studies show that factory workers, office and administrative personnel, transportation workers, and healthcare support roles are identified as being the most at risk.

So, what will companies do with these employees once their current talents and skills are no longer needed?  How will they fill those positions that they struggle to recruit new talent and skills for?  The answer is not recruiting; the answer is reskilling.

The increase in digitization has simultaneously increased the need for tech-savvy people, and companies are struggling to find qualified candidates based on a shortage of tech talent. Reskilling, however, offers organizations a chance to retain their loyal employees while saving money on expensive recruitment costs.

Recently, Veterans United— the nation’s number one VA Loan provider—  reached out to Centriq Training to assist them with reskilling some of their employees to become software developers.  Veterans United (VU), who’s based in Columbia, MO, is seeing an extreme shortage of developers— unfortunate for an area where developer talent is so desperately needed. VU saw this as an opportunity to invest in the same people who had invested in them over the last several years. On August 19^th, three of their employees, who had been working in different customer service roles, joined Centriq Training’s four-month IT Career Program to become full stack web developers. After completing the program in December, they will return to Columbia to begin working as full time Software Developers for Veterans United.

Veterans United, and other companies who are jumping on board the reskilling train, already know the benefits of reskilling their employees.  Recruiting a new software developer can cost a company anywhere between $50k – $100k depending on experience, how long the process takes to find the right candidate, relocation allowances, onboarding costs and training.  This doesn’t account for those employees who have been laid off, either— laying off an employee usually includes a severance package, COBRA insurance plans, and the possibility of other employees leaving from fear of being laid off next.

Reskilling is the new recruiting, and Centriq Training is excited to begin partnering with area companies to help fill the IT skills gap.