As the end of the year approaches and annual review season heats up, businesses are looking for that critical edge for success in 2025 and beyond. The place to focus is upskilling.
Businesses face steep competition in a challenging marketplace. Customers are demanding more and seeking personalized experiences. Change is everywhere and being driven by transformative technology. Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, especially generative AI, are reshaping industries and workflows and making new demands on the existing and future workforce. To get ahead and stay successful, organizations need to get their people up to speed quickly. To help, here are ten ways to prioritize upskilling for 2025.
1. Recognize the strategic importance of upskilling.
The first step is acknowledgement. In the coming months, AI-focused tech is poised to touch and alter every aspect of work – from production to business analysis to customer service. That evolution will change business priorities and exacerbate competition from new directions. Businesses that prepare their people now will be ahead of the game.
Future-proof your workforce with personalized upskilling strategies.
2. Tackle the technology skills gap.
As industries lean into AI-focused tools, the reality is setting in that effective use relies on people. Generative AI delivers top-notch results when human operators enter top-notch prompts. Businesses planning to take advantage of emerging technologies need to fill existing skills gaps as soon as possible. Continuing that process as tech evolves is essential to fostering workplace innovation.
3. Prioritize workforce retention and engagement.
Employees see the changes around them. They want to contribute to growth, not feel unsettled by it. Investing in meaningful development shows them they’re valued. The opportunity to upgrade their skills build confidence and helps retention. Engaged employees give back and stick around.
4. Choose quick and scalable solutions.
In Brandon Hall’s 2023 Learning Benchmark study 47% of companies listed upskilling as a major challenge. Many get bogged down on curriculum development. Instead, introduce ready-made content to kickstart efforts quickly and efficiently. Bypass an extensive setup process and deliver quick learning wins to employees and your organization.
5. Include data-driven skills development.
Just as data informs and sharpens business decisions, it helps organizations nail down a winning upskilling strategy. Dig into data from past skills training sessions or learning management system reporting. Leverage those insights to identify skills gaps and priorities and build an upskilling roadmap for the new year.
6. Get leadership buy-in.
Build a business case for upskilling as soon as possible. Engage leaders early to get them fully on board. A successful upskilling effort needs organization-wide support. When leadership is fully committed, learning becomes a team effort and garners higher completion and success rates.
7. Build customized learning paths.
Successful upskilling programs see employees as individuals. People have diverse learning styles and respond to different references and motivations. With tailored learning experiences, businesses meet their learning objectives while giving employees a relevant and satisfying personalized experience. AI-supported learning platforms make these two-in-one benefits easy to achieve.
Close skills gaps with AI-powered custom learning paths
8. Use resources efficiently.
Upskilling isn’t a blank slate endeavor. It fills strategic blanks. By drawing on available resources, businesses can get started quickly and save costs. Ready-made content is the fastest way to a skills-building program. It’s also the most effective for achieving immediate results. Leading portfolios are designed for cost-effectiveness and they also prioritize diverse and engaging learning experiences.
9. Avoid common pitfalls.
Delaying or missing out on upskilling due to lack of resources isn’t an option for our tech-driven future. Businesses wary of upskilling failure can skirt problems with ready-made content. Short, digestible lessons save time by only presenting necessary information and getting to the point easily. Built-in assessments ensure learning is effective and demonstrate value to leadership and employees.
10. Walk the walk.
Don’t just strategize upskilling – start implementing. Every minute your employees spend using new tech in less-than-optimal ways downgrades performance in other areas. For many organizations, cybersecurity and data-related skills are key training areas. Identify these needs and start upskilling now to stay ahead of the competition.
Make the coming year a time of intentional workforce growth through upskilling.
For maximum time and cost savings, prepare your workforce for the skillsets of tomorrow with ready-made content. Meeting learning goals ahead of your competition keeps your workforce engaged and positions your organization for success in 2025 and beyond.
Ready-made content like Absorb’s Amplify helps organizations take a quick-start approach. Minimal setup saves time and resources and sets learning and development in motion to meet tomorrow’s challenges.
