Despite the ever-expanding toolbox of courses, platforms, and content, the learning and development industry is stuck. The same challenges persist: skills gaps are widening, engagement is low, and proving L&D’s impact to business leaders remains a struggle. 

These obstacles make it clear that traditional L&D strategies—focused on providing learning—are no longer enough.

L&D teams have been reactive, attempting to solve problems with more content, tools, and engagement campaigns. But these efforts alone don’t drive real business outcomes. The missing piece? A skills-based learning strategy that is deeply embedded within business needs and designed to drive measurable impact.

 

Understanding the L&D Maturity Model

To transform your efforts into a strategic function that delivers real business results, your organisation needs to take a more structured approach. The L&D Maturity Model provides this roadmap, offering a clear pathway to move from reactive training provision to a business-aligned learning strategy.

This model is built on three key elements:

• Themes: Core focus areas such as strategy, metrics, leadership, and SME collaboration.
• Levels: Five stages of L&D maturity, ranging from reactive to transformative.
• KPIs: Measurable indicators that track progress and impact.

By following this framework, you can assess where your L&D function stands today and identify the steps needed to advance to the next level.

 

The five stages of L&D maturity

The L&D Maturity Model outlines five progressive levels of development:

1. Reactive

At this stage, L&D primarily acts as an order-taker. Your primary focus is on compliance training with minimal offerings beyond mandatory programmes. There is little to no alignment with business strategy, and learning is seen as an isolated activity rather than a driver of performance.

2. Proactive

L&D starts to provide a broader selection of programmes, offering structured learning experiences. Your function is still seen as a service provider rather than a strategic partner, but there is growing recognition of your potential to contribute to employee development.

3. Impacting

L&D evolves into a more sophisticated function, offering a comprehensive curriculum tailored to different stages of the employee journey. At this level, learning initiatives are aimed at improvements in employee skills and business performance, although impact is still difficult to demonstrate.

4. Strategic

L&D is now fully aligned with business goals. Learning initiatives are integrated into workforce planning, and upskilling programmes are designed to drive business outcomes. Leadership actively engages with your team, recognising your role in talent development and competitive advantage.

5. Transformative

At the highest level, L&D operates as a data-driven, skills-based function that delivers high-impact outcomes. You use AI-driven skills ontologies and automated learning pathways to ensure that employees are continuously developing the capabilities needed to meet evolving business demands. L&D is embedded in decision-making and is a key driver of innovation and organisational growth.

 

Driving impact: why strategy, engagement, and skills matter

1. Engagement and impact go hand in hand

Many organisations focus heavily on boosting learner engagement, but engagement alone is not the end goal. Instead, engagement should be a by product and include impactful learning experiences that align with business needs. When you deliver solutions that are relevant, practical, and strategically aligned, employees are highly likely to engage with your content. Simply put: if you aim for impact, engagement follows.

2. Skills-based learning is the future

The skills crisis is one of the biggest challenges organisations face today. According to recent studies:

• 78% of leaders report some extent of a skills shortage within their organisation.
• 57% of employees lack clear career visibility and guidance on their next steps.

Traditional L&D models struggle to keep up with rapidly changing skill demands. The solution? A skills-based learning strategy that continuously identifies and develops the capabilities needed for the future. This approach not only helps employees grow but also ensures your organisation remains competitive.

3. AI as an L&D enabler

One of the most significant advancements in our industry is the use of AI-powered skills ontologies. These technologies eliminate the manual effort of mapping and managing skills by automating much of the process. 

AI can scan industry trends, identify emerging skills gaps, and recommend targeted learning pathways. With AI handling 90% of the heavy lifting, your team can finally focus on strategic initiatives rather than administrative tasks.

Where do you stand: assessing your L&D maturity?

Every organisation’s L&D function sits somewhere on the maturity spectrum. The key question is: where are you today, and where do you need to go?

Use the L&D Maturity Model’s interactive self-assessment to gauge your current level and define actionable next steps. This assessment helps:

• Identify gaps in strategy, engagement, and skills development.
• Align L&D initiatives with business goals.
• Implement KPIs that measure learning impact and business contribution.

By systematically advancing through the maturity levels, any L&D team can transition from a reactive cost center to a strategic force that drives workforce transformation.

 

The path forward: making learning a business priority

The traditional way of doing L&D—offering largely generic courses and resources without strategic alignment—is no longer sustainable. Now’s the time for your team to prove its value and move from being a background function to a business driver, by focusing on:

• Business alignment over course and content catalogues.
• Skills development over simply compliance-driven training.
• Impact measurement over vanity metrics.

To help organisations embrace a new, structured approach that embeds learning into the fabric of the business, the L&D Maturity Model provides the long-awaited framework for this transformation. The question now is: Are you ready to take the next step?

 

 

David James 

CLO at 360Learning