Written by: Abby Keeler, BS and Kayla Reed-Fitzke, PhD, LMFT
We’ve arrived in the year 2025! With a new year upon us, it’s common for people to look back on previous years, celebrate their achievements, and consider their aspirations and goals for the future. Military spouses, in particular, might be nervous about what their career path will look like this year. According to research by LinkedIn (Kimbrough, 2024), over one in ten global workers hired in 2024 have job titles that did not exist in the year 2000. This means that the workforce is evolving rapidly, and it’s important to understand why and how military spouses must remain adaptable.
A survey of over 200,000 professionals conducted by LinkedIn (2024), found that a whopping 64% are overwhelmed by workplace change. Additionally, nearly half (49%) are worried about being left behind. Fortunately, there are pathways available to help military spouses and middle-aged workers regain their footing and thrive.
LinkedIn News (2024) suggests:
- Keeping Up with Change: Evaluating current learning and development opportunities helps military spouses and midlife workers stay current, avoid feeling overwhelmed and foster a greater sense of control.
- Cultivating a Growth Mindset: Embracing change can be intimidating, but with a willingness to learn positions, military spouses and midlife workers will gain valuable knowledge and advance their careers.
- Harnessing Bite-Sized Learning: Midlife professionals are motivated to acquire new skills and grow their careers. Breaking learning into smaller, manageable steps makes the process more accessible and effective.
Table Attribution: Borden (2024). Retrieved from LinkedIn post.
Upskilling for Success
As seen in the image above, there are a variety of challenges that professionals are currently facing. Over a quarter of employees will be 55 and older by 2031 (Root et al., 2023) and may be trying to find ways to stay up to date with evolving technology and best practices. Regardless of time spent in a field, most professionals are actively working to learn new professional skills (i.e., reskilling; Udemy, 2024). “Upskilling” is also on the rise, particularly for midlife workers, which allows providers to showcase their adaptability and resilience. Upskilling refers to when a professional takes action to improve their skillset or reduce a knowledge gap through trainings or professional development programs to improve their performance in a current role or prepare them to advance in their career. Upskilling refers to improving an existing skillset in order to be more proficient, whereas reskilling is learning an entirely new skillset (Khan & Goodwin, 2023).
A primary area of interest for upskilling opportunities may be in AI, given that nearly 1 in 3 global workers are worried about integrating AI into their workstreams (LinkedIn News, 2024). If you are worried about educating military spouses and midlife workers on how to incorporate AI into their daily tasks, you’re not alone. Obtaining AI skills is a great way to help employees maintain their edge and stand out among the increasingly technology-savvy workforce but can be challenging to learn when it is something you aren’t used to yourself – and when it’s constantly evolving.
Here are a few ideas to get started:
- Try asking ChatGPT to “proof” something you’ve written.
- Use AI tools for time management, like the smart scheduling features on Google Calendar.
- Partner with platforms like LinkedIn Learning, Coursera or Udemy for access to courses on AI.
- Explain how to use ChatGPT to simplify a topic or provide step-by-step instructions.
- Collaborate with employers to integrate AI training as part of onboarding or professional development programs.
Working and Learning Together
A key finding in the Midlife Fulfilled (2024) report, featured in Udemy (2024), emphasized that midlife professionals are eager to learn how to collaborate with younger generations, however, opportunities to do so are limited. Intergenerational collaboration is extremely important, as the rising generation is moving ever closer to long-term roles. Interactive experiences (e.g., workshops) for midlife and younger professionals may provide opportunities for them to work collaboratively and to increase engagement and overall productivity (Midlife Fulfilled, 2024; Udemy, 2024). Leaders and organizations can also support mentorship opportunities. Enabling middle-aged workers to offer mentorship creates an opportunity for them to learn from the younger generation, while also allowing the younger workers to gain insights, such as soft skills, fostering a more cohesive work environment (Midlife Fulfilled, 2024; Udemy, 2024).
Middle-aged workers, including many military spouses, are eager and willing to learn more skills to further their career and desirability. They simply need to be given the proper tools to do so. In an upcoming blog about upskilling, we will explore best practices for empowering older workers and discuss why it’s so crucial. Stay tuned!
References:
Borden, T. (2024, October 30). The most pressing challenges professionals are facing at work—and how to overcome them [LinkedIn post]. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/most-pressing-challenges-professionals-facing-work-how-taylor-borden
Khan, T. & Godwin, M. (2023, December 4). What is upskilling? IBM Think. https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/upskilling
Kimbrough, K. (2024, October 29). Business leaders and professionals agree – work is changing. Here’s how. [Economic Graph]. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/business-leaders-professionals-agree-work-changing-heres-kimbrough-x2utc/
LinkedIn News. (2024, October). Overwhelmed by workplace change [News article]. LinkedIn. https://news.linkedin.com/2024/October/overwhelmed-by-workplace-change
Midlife Fulfilled. (2024). Fulfillment research report: Thriving in midlife. Midlife Fulfilled. https://midlifefulfilled.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Midlife-Fulfilled-Research-Report-FINAL-No-QR-Code.pdf
Root, J., Schwedel, A., Haslett, M., & Bitler, N. (July 2023). Better with age: The rising importance of older workers. Bain & Company. https://www.bain.com/insights/better-with-age-the-rising-importance-of-older-workers/
Udemy. (2024, October 31). Midlife workers are just getting started: Why this generation is doubling down on upskilling. Udemy Business. https://about.udemy.com/udemy-business/midlife-workers-are-just-getting-started-why-this-generation-is-doubling-down-on-upskilling/
Cover Image by: Jon Anders Wiken | Adobe Stock 483961540