Retooling in Development Work, Peace Work/ Conflict Work

Retooling is the process of acquiring new/ additional knowledge and skills to improve a person’s efficiency and or employability.

In the face of changing technology, ways of doing things, policies, regulations, things, etc., people need to stay relevant by constantly, or when need be, improving themselves.

What is Retooling?

To retool is to acquire skills and knowledge in line with or in a closely-related profession/ field. Alone, some courses/ do not fully equip a person to perform his/ her duties. However, the acquisition of additional skills can place a person strategically to perform his/ her duties in an efficient and more professional way.

Again, some skills are less marketable, but coupled with one or a few others, their demand increases by a significant margin.

In her video, Don’t Give Up: Retool, Julie Gichuru talks about how people should not give up if they are not getting hired as fast as they desire, but should rather check if there is some knowledge or skills that could increase their employability.  The truth of the matter is, no one study gives a person all the tools s/he needs to deliver efficiently on all fronts of his/ her field.

Retooling as a Development Worker, Peacebuilder or Facilitator

As a development worker / peacebuilder and facilitator of peace processes for instance, it is not only necessary to understand the theories of peace and conflict, but also important to understand the tools and processes of mapping conflicts and planning peace projects. Facilitation skills and knowledge would also come in  handy for such a practictioner for conflict sensitivity purposes, as well as increase positive impacts of the projects.

A closely related concept that I love is Cross-Tool; acquiring skills in different field.

What is Likely to Change? Why Do you Need to Retool/ Cross-Tool

Communities evolve, funding agencies revise their guidelines, learning institutions come up with improved knowledge and skills/ theories, conflict take new shape, the political climate changes, etc.

Why Retool?

• Improve your efficiency
• Stay relevant
• Mitigate your approach’s negative impact and increase your conflict sensitivity
• Increase chances of positive impact

Re-Tooling in Peace Work

•  Personal awareness – Read: Peacebuilder as the most important resource in peacework
•  Increase/ improv skills such as project administration, project management, \
• Conflict Analysis, –
•  Project cycle
• M&E
• Fundraising

Where to Re-Tool

•  Internship with authority implementing institutions
• Short/ long courses with accredited institutions
• Hekima Institute of Peace Studies
• IAF – International Association of Facilitators
• Akademie fur konflikt-transfurmation
• Mentors. You need not have daily contact with them; you just need to identify them, follow them (basically make it your business to know what they are doing, and if you can, have a personal touch with them. I have three incredible women : my mum, a certain International Facilitator/ Trainer in the Gender Field, a certain Program Coordinator.

Parting Shot

More often than not, life does not go as planned. Not even for those people we seem to think that life has worked out perfectly.

Sometimes, for one reason or another, the skills you had acquired become obsolete in the new era of changing technology, way of doing things, policies, funding, etc. Not to worry.

You can start over or retooling: building on what you already have.