Upskilling has long been viewed as a way for professionals to get a competitive edge at work. In 2025, upskilling offers a new benefit: helping workers combat FOBO, or the fear of becoming obsolete. The World Economic Forum says that FOBO is fueled by the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). Uncertainty is now the norm, with an overwhelming 89% of US workers reporting that AI makes them feel concerned about their job security.
FOBO is undeniably real, but so is our ability to learn new skills. Intentionally upskilling goes beyond surviving the changing times—it helps bring back a sense of adaptability and reminds us that our skills are flexible, not fixed.
There are concrete benefits to upskilling this year. Let’s examine what those benefits are, looking at what forms upskilling can take and how to make a plan that keeps it fun.
What is upskilling?
Upskilling is the intentional pursuit of skill advancement in one’s job. Workers often learn new things at work, but most skills are acquired passively through experience. Upskilling, on the other hand, is active—it’s a deliberate decision to stretch one’s abilities.
Intentionally learning new skills fosters a growth mindset, a belief that we can improve our knowledge or skills, as opposed to them being fixed and unchangeable. While it may sound minor, a growth mindset has a tangible impact on how we work and live.
In a paper published in Nature, Stanford psychologists Carol Dweck and Greg Walton detailed the power of “growth mindset intervention.” They found that students who had taken a 50-minute online course on growth mindset earned higher grades.
This encouraging research can help you pivot the upskilling focus from FOBO to GROW: goal, reality, options and way forward.
Making an upskilling plan
Fear might be a factor in the upskilling surge, but it shouldn’t be the dominant force. Upskilling can be encouraging, community-inducing and fun. Here’s how to make an upskilling plan for yourself and reap the positive benefits.
Step 1: Identify focus areas
Consider two focus areas for your upskilling: one related to your specific job, and the other related to AI, since AI is a big cause of job security fears. If learning opportunities for your precise professional role are limited, consider focusing on core skills that benefit all professionals.
Analytic thinking, resilience and leadership skills are some of the most important core skills for workers in 2025, according to the World Economic Forum. Some other rich soft skills include communication, self-discipline, negotiation, time management, public speaking and networking.
A final, more strategic approach to choosing an upskilling focus is to develop skills that will serve your next position. Is there a specific promotion that you hope to land? Ask leadership what skills they value most in people at that level of the organization and start investing in those areas now.
Step 2: Write it down
What do you want to learn, and what would change if you learned this? How would it improve your career or life? Envision what would change if your upskilling plan succeeds, and then write it down.
This step can be brief, but it’s powerful. In a Dominican University of California study, psychology professor Gail Matthews found that “those who wrote their goals accomplished significantly more than those who did not write their goals.”
With your goal written down, you can move on to your learning mediums.
Step 3: Choose your learning platform
Choose a learning medium that you enjoy, disregarding any inner monologue about what you “should” do. Beyond the familiar options of books, podcasts and YouTube channels, consider additional means such as online courses, newsletters or even local groups.
For example, some resources for learning AI include:
Ask your network for recommendations, or try this prompt in ChatGPT if you’re familiar with it: I’m making an upskilling plan to help me learn [topic]. What are free resources, such as YouTube channels, online courses, interactive learning platforms, podcasts, newsletters, books and groups local to [where you live] that will teach me this?
Step 4: Determine the frequency
Will you complete your upskilling tasks daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly? Every goal needs to be specific in order to know when success has been achieved. Err on the side of realism and not idealism when setting your schedule. Setting an overly ambitious schedule can contribute to feelings of burnout and being overwhelmed.
Listening to a podcast episode or watching a YouTube video could be a daily activity, while taking a module of an online course could be a weekly activity.
Step 5: Make it stick
Plan execution and information retention are integral parts of making your upskilling stick.
First comes execution: How do you make upskilling a part of your routine? Choose a time when you’ll upskill and put it on the calendar. When you fit upskilling into your schedule can be determined by the type of content you’re consuming. Consider listening to a podcast on your morning commute or watching a YouTube tutorial on your afternoon break.
Next comes the challenge of knowledge retention. Teach your colleagues about what you’re learning—not to show off, but to help yourself commit the information to memory. Going through the process of information retrieval and teaching others helps you remember information better (known as the “protégé effect”).
You can even leverage your upskilling to help establish your authority in your field. Share your learnings on LinkedIn to help build your personal brand while reinforcing the information you’ve learned.
Keeping it fun
How do you keep upskilling fun? Turn it into a game, otherwise known as gamification, the process of integrating game-like elements into work, health, etc. This can be as simple as tracking your habits in a spreadsheet to visually see a learning streak or choosing a reward for every learning goal met. This process can be more high tech, using gamification programs like Habitica and Finch.
By reinforcing your progress with rewards and recognition, you build positive habits, pivoting away from fear and toward growth. This helps reframe the pressure to upskill in 2025.
To quote David Bowie, it’s time to turn and face the strange. Just as the internet eventually penetrated every nook and cranny of the workforce, AI will likely reach every profession. Companies and colleges are embracing evolving technology, and so must workers.
Lean into the changing times. Education will help counteract feelings of helplessness, making you more resilient and adaptable. Enjoy the tangible impact on your confidence and career.
Photo from Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock.com
