E-Paper
From layoffs to leapfrogs: How professionals are turning job uncertainty into upskilling opportunities
As AI transforms industries, many professionals face layoffs and a skills gap. To thrive, they must pivot, upskill, and embrace adaptability.
As AI continues to grow in leaps and bounds, it is dramatically changing the employment landscape. Unfortunately, the spectre of layoffs looms lage even for experienced professionals.
Economic uncertainty, automation and AI-driven transformation, and organisational restructuring have all contributed to a pervasive feeling of vulnerability in many industries. Yet amid this disruption lies an emerging story. A large cohort of professionals seizing the moment to upskill, pivot and leapfrog into more resilient roles.
The layoff wave and emerging skills gaps Recent research indicates that while the jobs themselves are not disappearing, many roles are being redefined and some skill-sets rendered obsolete. For example, a survey by McKinsey & Company found that among U.S. workers willing to change occupations, the top barrier was lack of relevant skills, credentials or experience. Meanwhile, other reporting shows rising levels of job-cut anxiety and deepening pressure on professionals to display adaptability. What this signals is a shift in the employability equation. Tenure and title are no longer sufficient. What matters increasingly is agility, updated capability, and the capacity to move into adjacent or emerging roles.
Turning uncertainty into strategic reset
For professionals facing uncertainty, the first key move is reframing how they think about their career narratives. A layoff or even the mere prospect of one can become a pivot point rather than a dead end. Instead of merely asking “How do I keep my job?”, the more productive question is: “What skills will make me indispensable in my next role (or the one after)?”
Practical steps include identifying high-demand skills (for example in digital fluency, AI adoption, cross-functional collaboration) and mapping a realistic plan for upskilling. In one analysis it was noted that workers willing to switch occupations were much more likely to have pursued or intend to pursue new skills. Professionals can treat this moment not as a retreat, but as a strategic reset: updating their portfolio, adding credibility through certifications or real-world projects, and aligning their trajectory with where demand is heading (rather than where it was).
Practical upskilling at scale
Just by attending a course will not necessarily translate into upskilling. It is about embedding new capability into your professional identity and making future-proof contributions. Following are some guiding principles one can follow:
● Select skills with traction. Employees who had the willingness to change occupations still cited skills and credentials as the top barrier. That means picking relevant, visible skills. For instance digital automation literacy, data fluency or adaptable domain expertise.
● Use blended modalities. Whether through online courses, peer communities, hackathons or employer-sponsored programmes, mixing formats increases ownership and retention. Research shows cost and time remain major barriers to upskilling.
● Translate learning into impact. The value of a certification grows exponentially when it is paired with real-world application: side projects, open-source contributions, or solving problems outside one’s comfort zone.
Building career resilience and growth beyond change
The last piece of the puzzle is mindset and ecosystem. Upskilling on its own is necessary but not sufficient: resilience, network, and growth-orientation matter too. Professionals who combine new skills with strong networks, continuous feedback loops and a willingness to take on stretch assignments are more likely to leapfrog. Companies that support learning and flexible deployment reduce the individual burden of time and cost. For individuals this means keeping a learning-habit alive, updating the professional brand and being open to lateral or adjacent moves that may ultimately elevate the trajectory rather than simply maintain the status quo.
In the contemporary career journey no longer follows a steady climb up a known ladder. Instead, it looks more like a sequence of leaps: pivoting when needed, learning new domains, and aligning oneself with where the work is going rather than where it has been. For professionals facing job uncertainty, the path forward is clear: lean into upskilling, treat disruption as opportunity and build a future-ready profile rather than just defending the present.
The difference between doing more of the same and leap-frogging ahead is nothing but deliberate preparation.
(Author Anant Bengani is Co - Founder and Director - Zell Education. Views are personal.)
