Data-Driven Decisions: Transforming Skilling Programs for Success

In today’s fast-paced business world, understanding the effectiveness of talent development programs for the current and future workforce is essential. As technology and market demands evolve rapidly, workers need to acquire new skills to remain effective and productive, while building resilience for their employers. Upskilling programs can help bridge the gap between the existing and leaders’ desired skill level for workers and foster a culture of continuous learning and innovation in organizations. 

Not all upskilling programs are created equal; some align better with workers’ needs and expectations than others. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the impact and satisfaction of upskilling programs from the perspective of both employees and employers, identifying areas of improvement, and best practices for maximum effectiveness. 

Skillsoft surveyed 2,500 full-time employees from the United States, UK, Germany, and India, to understand the state of enterprise skilling. The survey explored what skills employees, from individual contributors to CEOs and founders, believed were necessary for success, what constitutes an effective talent development program, the impact of AI on work, and more.

By capturing the talent development landscape from perspectives spanning geographies, experience, and industries, Skillsoft’s latest research highlights emerging trends and offers actionable insights that can guide both current and future leaders in the strategic planning and implementation of effective training initiatives.

Lack of Time Leads Top Five Barriers to Skilling

Skillsoft’s research found a lack of time was the top barrier to upskilling, chosen over ten percentage points more often than the next closest barrier, lack of options (42% vs. 30%). The third most popular choice was poor support from leadership (26%), followed by lack of relevant content (26%) and lack of budget (24%).

Organizations must create a culture of learning, enabling and empowering talent to continuous and effective talent development programs, ensuring their employees have the skills they need to innovate and drive the business forward. As generative AI (Gen AI) disrupts the status quo, organizations must diminish the barriers and provide access to necessary skills to help talent understand and use these technologies to augment their work and, in some cases, be more productive. It’s important to address hurdles employees may be experiencing in their skilling journey for the future health of the company.

Learning and Development Programs Must be as Diverse as Talent and Their Needs

The top three training models respondents want more investment in are online, video-based training (39%), interactive or experiential training (37%), and live instructor-led training (37%). Evaluating what skills teams need and taking a multi-modal approach to learning can help address a lack of options and relevant content. 

While the method may be different, leaders must strive to provide talent development programs that deliver holistic and effective skilling to the entire organization. Our research found that almost 75% of respondents feel that their organization's talent development programs have significant gaps. To overcome these challenges, organizations should consider implementing comprehensive and interactive learning solutions that empower employees and help them develop essential skills.

Greater Alignment is Needed on the Skills Most Critical for Success

Skillsoft’s research found that the same four categories of skills – power, technical, AI, and leadership – are most important to senior leaders, management, and individual contributors. Power skills, often referred to as “soft skills,” include competencies like communication and emotional intelligence, while technical skills cover areas like cloud computing and data analysis. AI skills involve aptitudes like prompt engineering and identifying hallucinations. Lastly, leadership skills encompass proficiencies like decisiveness and delegation.

Executive teams ranked these four skills:

• Leadership (24%)
• AI (23%)
• Technical (22%)
• Power (20%)

Management and their teams ranked these skills:

• Power (24%)
• Leadership (23%)
• Technical (22%)
• AI (13%)

The biggest difference between these leaders and their employees is how they see AI’s current importance as well as the perceived effectiveness of AI skills training. 72% of individual contributors rated AI-specific training programs as poor to average, down to 60% for middle management, and 44% for executives. There are multiple potential causes for these differences, from a lack of communication and direct priorities to a training program that doesn’t cater well enough to differing levels of experience. Given the third most common barrier to skilling was poor support from leadership, it’s likely the insights that influence leadership are not the same as those shaping the rest of the organization.

These rankings can also inform companies on what skills their employees are actually using day-to-day. While AI tools like CoPilot or ChatGPT may be integrated in the workforce, lower usage numbers could be due to managers and their teams being confused in how to utilize it.

Skills Gaps Make Workers Question Their Job Security 

Economic headwinds and shifting job markets have affected how employees see themselves in their roles. Their skills, or lack thereof, have also impacted how they view their job security. According to Skillsoft’s research, 41% of respondents say they’re somewhat or strongly concerned about being replaced or shifted into an undesirable role due to a lack of skills.

Management and above are more likely (57%) to have these fears and are prioritizing technical skills (24%) alongside AI (20%), closely followed by power and leadership skills (both 20%). Despite the previously mentioned overall sentiment ranking technical skills lower down the list, this focus could be in response to the rise of AI tools in the workplace. However, the World Economic Forum estimates 12 million more jobs will be added to the workforce than are displaced due to AI, making AI implementation more about reskilling and transferable skills, change management, and internal mobility.

The longevity and prosperity of businesses revolve around a commitment to building an engaged, dynamic workforce. Unfortunately, barriers like a lack of time, miscommunication of priorities, and shaken confidence in job security are hindering growth. Organizations can help their employees meet their skilling goals, help keep their workforce happy and engaged and remain competitive and agile. But it won’t happen overnight nor without investment in creating a culture of learning. To ensure skilling efforts continue effectively, business leaders must:

• Encourage employees to set aside time regularly for upskilling, whether that be reading an informative book or completing an online skills course. Consider even developing a new policy for this time to demonstrate the importance upskilling has to an organization. This can also help encourage managers to support their direct reports on their skilling journey.
• Improve skilling programs through evaluation and iteration of current training initiatives and ensure they offer multimodal and blended learning options that cater to different learning styles and preferences. Additionally, organizations should explore how they can utilize new and emerging techniques such as gamification, AI-coaching, and adaptive learning to enhance the engagement and retention of learners. Don’t discount the value of establishing core skill priorities with department and team leads so employees can feel validated and productive with their training time. 
• Ensure effective L&D modalities. Considering respondents’ confidence in skills is necessary for success, ensure the modalities of talent development programs are appropriate and effective for the intended learners. Surveys, focus groups, and other data gathering avenues will help understand current competencies and provide a path for employees to share what they find most useful for different topics.
• Communicate directly with department and team leads for wider priorities. When talent see their leadership prioritize learning and investment in skills, they’re more likely to do so as well. Once an effective, iterative skilling initiative is set in place for principal skills like power and leadership skills, pursuing more specialized pathways will show employees their perspectives matter.
• Establish actionable and benchmarkable skills the company is focusing on to assuage anxiety on the future of jobs and the business. By benchmarking skills, organizations can identify the gaps and strengths of their workforce, align talent development programs with business goals, and motivate employees to improve their skills and competencies. Benchmarking can also help communicate the value and relevance of the skills leadership prioritizes and how they can contribute to the success and growth of the company and its employees.

Skillsoft’s State of Enterprise Skilling research highlights employees value programs that help them acquire and improve the skills they need to succeed in their roles and advance their careers. However, many organizations are falling short of providing effective and engaging skilling opportunities that address the needs and preferences of their workforce. By investing in talent development programs that align with business goals, offer a blended, multi-modal approach, and allow leaders to track results and iterate, organizations can foster employee growth, enhance business sustainability, and boost productivity, innovation, and competitiveness in the digital age.

Research Methodology

Skillsoft’s research survey was conducted online in July 2024 through the Pollfish platform. The survey yielded 2,500 complete responses from full-time workers across various industries and roles in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and India.