Beth Knight |
As employees and organizations adapt to new norms of working, emerging technologies, and general business disruptions, the skills needed to succeed in today’s work environment are shifting rapidly. A recent CEO survey found that 92% of CEOs are investing heavily in generative AI, for example, but only 23% of them believe their organizations can adapt fast enough, and just 7% are seeing new revenue from these efforts. Meanwhile, frontline roles like nurses and technicians continue to face severe worker shortages. Paradoxically, even industries that have cut white-collar jobs struggle to find next-generation skills like AI and data analytics.
This poses a major challenge for organizations: As they struggle to find a way to keep up with changing skills, they can’t rely solely on hiring strategies to meet their needs. Instead, organizations must find or develop the skills they need within their existing workforces. The problem is, the old approaches just won’t work anymore.
A new report from The Josh Bersin Company and Guild, Dynamic Skilling: Anticipating and Mitigating Current and Future Skills Gaps revealed ways that organizations are adopting a more dynamic approach to reskilling and upskilling their people. High-performing companies are responding by developing new learning ecosystems — agile, comprehensive talent-development frameworks that reach the entire workforce. These organizations provide a spectrum of learning opportunities and continuously adjust their offerings to match evolving skill demands.
Being dynamic isn’t just an HR mantra — it’s a proven driver of business performance.
AI skilling as a case in point
Nowhere is the need for dynamic skilling more apparent than in the realm of AI. The explosion of generative AI tools in the past year has left companies scrambling to keep up. Employees are feeling the whiplash: an Adecco study found 40% of workers feel burned out by the rapid influx of AI, 76% expect their employer to provide AI training, and nearly a quarter fear AI has already made their jobs less relevant.
The appetite for AI skills is staggering. In the past year, enrollments in AI-related programs through Guild surged by 900%. This demand spans AI fundamentals for the general workforce, applied AI skills for professionals, advanced AI integration for technical specialists, and even AI leadership training for executives.
Such overwhelming engagement underscores why a dynamic skilling approach is essential: Technology is evolving at breakneck speed, and companies must enable their people to evolve along with it. A static, one-and-done training module won’t suffice when new AI tools and use cases emerge every month. Instead, organizations need agile learning programs that can be launched and updated continuously to match the pace of innovation.
The how of dynamic skilling
How can organizations implement dynamic skilling in practice? The key is to build a dynamic learning ecosystem — a multifaceted, modular approach to workforce development that reaches every level of the organization.
Rather than one-size-fits-all training, dynamic organizations integrate a portfolio of educational programs and learning experiences that can flex to meet emerging needs — which are continually assessed and anticipated to ensure skilling investments are rooted in business priorities.
Another hallmark of dynamic skilling is offering learning in many formats. Frontline employees may need short, practical training, while managers benefit from mentoring or leadership development, and technical professionals pursue advanced certifications or degrees. Thus, leading companies cultivate a portfolio of learning options that blends informal methods (self-paced modules, stretch assignments, mentoring) with formal education (courses, certifications, degrees).
This ecosystem is modular, meaning new training can be added or updated quickly as needs change. The result: employees at every level continuously grow in ways that support their career goals and the company’s evolving needs. Dynamic skilling creates an agile framework for talent development, so the workforce can pivot as fast as the business requires.
Practical investment strategies for skilling
Building a dynamic learning ecosystem also means rethinking how development programs are funded and supported. Here are five practical investment strategies organizations use to power upskilling at scale:
Tiered investment: Fully fund programs for the most critical skills (like leadership or key technical expertise) while offering partial support for other development. This targets mission-critical areas without ignoring broader growth.
Time-gated investment: Immediately fund programs that address urgent skill gaps, but support longer-term learning (such as degree programs) incrementally. This fills critical roles quickly while managing budgets and encouraging employee retention.
Staggered investment: Allocate education budgets in phases – for example, invest a set amount early for a high-priority training, then use leftover funds for other learning needs later. This provides an intense push on immediate needs while keeping flexibility to shift resources as priorities change.
Flexible learning credits: Give employees a learning stipend to spend on approved development options of their choice. This allows individuals to pursue courses or credentials aligned with their goals, personalizing the learning journey.
Pilot program funding: Reserve part of the L&D budget to pilot new training programs on a small scale. Testing courses with a limited group lets you evaluate impact before wider rollout, so larger investments go into approaches that work.
Sunrun and UCHealth’s dynamism in practice
Real-world examples show how dynamic skilling delivers results. Two organizations – Sunrun and UCHealth – have embraced education-driven upskilling with impressive outcomes.
Sunrun: Powering growth through education
After doubling its workforce, solar energy and battery storage provider Sunrun needed to quickly upskill thousands of frontline employees. It launched PowerU, a fully funded education benefit offering career-aligned courses across a wide range of skills. Nearly half of employees enrolled in PowerU in the first week. The impact was dramatic: among frontline employees who participated, turnover dropped by 70%, and internal mobility more than doubled for those employees. By making learning accessible and tied to career progression, Sunrun strengthened its talent pipeline and significantly improved retention.
UCHealth: Closing healthcare gaps with learning
Facing critical staff shortages, UCHealth, a Colorado-based nonprofit healthcare provider, introduced a tuition-free education program for employees covering programs ranging from certificates to graduate degrees. About 1,000 employees enrolled in the first few months. UCHealth uses a smart funding model to align education with staffing needs: short-form learning for urgent frontline roles is fully funded upfront to fill those positions quickly, while longer programs are financed over multiple years. The results are outstanding: participants have roughly triple the retention rate of their peers, and underrepresented groups are enrolling in nursing programs at three to four times their share of the workforce. Beyond filling jobs, UCHealth sees this initiative as an investment in its people – one that improves patient care and helps close critical talent gaps.
Four ways to be more dynamic
Today’s rapidly changing business environment means companies can’t afford a static approach to talent development. Dynamic skilling yields tangible benefits like lower turnover, higher internal mobility, and stronger performance. Building an agile learning ecosystem requires commitment, but the payoff is a future-ready workforce and a resilient organization.
To get started, consider these key steps:
Continuously assess skill needs: Regularly identify which skills are most critical to your strategic objectives and where gaps exist.
Prioritize critical development: Focus resources on building the high-value skills that drive your strategy, and ensure employees have access to programs to develop those skills.
Measure and adapt: Track the outcomes of your skilling initiatives (e.g. retention, promotion rates, project success) and adjust based on what works. Double down on programs that deliver results, and refine or phase out those that don’t.
Foster a learning culture: Provide a blend of formal and informal learning for all levels, and encourage managers to support their teams’ development. When continuous learning is expected and rewarded, employees readily pick up new skills as needs change.
By taking these steps, organizations will not only fill today’s talent gaps but also build a workforce ready for tomorrow’s challenges. Companies that embrace dynamic skilling now will be the ones leading their industries in the years ahead.
To learn more about how your organization can take this approach, download the full report, Dynamic Skilling: Anticipating and Mitigating Current and Future Skills Gaps.