Abstract

The aim of this study was to establish the impact of the cost of reskilling employees on the profitability of a business. This explanatory study collected quantitative data from 56 managers of small businesses in Mthatha, Eastern Cape province, South Africa. A pilot study was conducted prior to the actual fieldwork. This study used self-administered questionnaires which contained both closed and open-ended questions. The quantitative data were analysed using SPSS whereas the qualitative data were analysed by means of thematic analysis. The data were further tested statistically to establish the significance levels and the correlations between the variables. The analysis on the impact of the cost of reskilling on the profitability of a business showed that reskilling the current workforce improves the profitability of a business. The empirical result of this study indicates that the benefits of reskilling the current employees of a business outweighs the costs involved in the process. This study also found that it is less costly to a business to retain and reskill the current workforce than to recruit new employees. This indicates that small businesses should invest in reskilling their workers.