Learning and development has always been about giving people the skills and knowledge they need to perform effectively in their roles.

For People and Talent teams delivering upskilling and reskilling initiatives, understanding the changing workforce landscape and what it means for your organisation is crucial in connecting business-critical skills to actionable training strategies that add measurable value.

 

Rethinking L&D Strategies for the Future

It's clear that most business leaders recognise the importance of investing in skills development. Take, for instance, the World Economic Forum's 2025 Future of Jobs report, in which 63% of global leaders identify skills gaps as the most significant barrier to business transformation. The top cited area of focus is upskilling to address these gaps.

It's also clear that leaders want to see the value of L&D initiatives, with 77% expecting improvements in company productivity. However, as GP Strategies' Chief Customer Strategy Officer, renowned CLO and futurist Karie Willyerd discussed in a recent interview, rapid technological changes and talent shortages are creating a mismatch between the skills companies need and those employees have.

For training to move the needle, you first need to understand what skills you need and what you have. And as skills requirements become more complex, Willyerd anticipates that using a learning platform will be crucial in order to understand the critical competencies required for current and future roles and connect them to learning.

However, the right learning technology is only part of the solution. As businesses face disruption to entry-level roles and skills, and a lack of available talent, Willyerd also expects reskilling and redeploying existing talent to become a higher priority.

 

Connecting the Dots Between Employee and Organizational L&D Goals

An effective learning and development strategy is one that accounts for both individual and organisational goals. This enables you to target training that motivates learners, develops critical skills, and drives performance. But what does that look like in practice?

LinkedIn's 2025 Workplace Learning report reveals that when it comes to future-proofing through learning, several practices set high-performing L&D professionals apart.

Specifically, they balance employee career development with business-critical upskilling initiatives by deploying skills-based career development paths and integrating AI into their practices. These practices include:

• Using internal data and tools to identify skills gaps.
• Creating career paths with required skills and course recommendations.
• Collaborating with executives to align L&D programs to business strategy.

The report shows that these career development initiatives correlate with positive business results. Specifically, 100% of L&D respondents see higher skills development and talent mobility rates. They're also more confident in their ability to attract and retain talent.

 

3 Practical Ways to Future-Proof Skills Development Initiatives

How do you balance individual and organisational needs and use technology most effectively? Here are three ways.

1) Connecting Learning to Career Development

Learning and development should empower people, enabling them to visualise and control their progression within the business. That means helping them carve out their career paths, directing them toward relevant goals, and giving them actionable steps to get there.

Access to industry-specific labour market data can support your strategy, plot the course from generic training programs to personalised learning pathways, and move beyond the boundaries of linear career progression.

Standardising job titles and associated competencies within your platform clarifies whether employees have the skills needed for their roles and pinpoints talent gaps. But this insight can also be used to deploy talent effectively and show employees opportunities based on current and desired skills.

With this skills data, it’s easier to personalise training and development based on the skills your people want to develop while ensuring alignment with essential business priorities.

 

2) Clarifying Goals Through Career Conversations

Don't forget the importance of connection when it comes to turning skills insights into tailored development plans and helping learners clarify their goals.

People managers play a crucial role in your talent development strategies. During career conversations with employees, they should help people set measurable development goals aligned with team and business performance objectives.

Equipping managers with team-wide learning and development data ensures they can better oversee and direct employee growth, check goal alignment, and offer motivation by celebrating achievements.

 

3) Building Connections and Feedback Loops

Feedback is a crucial component that gives learners a health check on their progression and shows them where to go. Using skills as the foundation for this feedback gives people a frame of reference for offering practical guidance on how employees perform in their various role-specific competencies.

Insight from managers, peers, and mentors who work closely with employees can offer continuous insight for growth and improvement. To measure progression over time, prompt learners to request feedback after completing a project, task, or training program.

Similarly, mentorship might typically be seen as a top-down initiative, but informal peer learning opportunities also have enormous value. Connecting learners based on current and desired skills helps to identify suitable mentors across the organisation. This gives people the benefit of receiving first-hand guidance and in-the-moment feedback while building skills through practical experience.

 

Build a Future-Ready Workforce with Learning

Bridging the gap between employee and business goals and delivering targeted training builds a productive, engaged workforce equipped to overcome talent gaps and meet changing skills demands.

 

Akash Savdharia 

VP Talent Solutions, Bridge