The essential role of learning and development in 2025

How AI is Reshaping Work: Insights from Jason Ross at CultureCon

Stop Managing Change, Start Anticipating It

Entrepreneur, investor, and host of The Diary of a CEO podcast, Steven Bartlett, says true prosperity is what you _know_ and what you can _do_.

_"Those who hoard gold have riches for a moment. Those who hoard knowledge and skills have riches for a lifetime."_

And, as he explains in his bestseller _"The Diary of a CEO"_, ever-expanding knowledge and skills have a protective element.

_“There are only two buckets that any professional earthquake can never empty – it can take away your network, it can take away your resources, it can even impact your reputation, but it can never remove your knowledge and it can never unlearn your skills._”

Riches for a lifetime

Ahead of his 90-minute live virtual event, [**STEVEN BARTLETT: REDEFINING LEADERSHIP, INNOVATION, AND THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS**](https://thegrowthfaculty.com/events/a02RG00000Dde2wYAB/overview?campaign_id=701RG00000iP9TfYAK&promo=Blog&type=Affiliate), let’s look at the essential role of learning and development in 2025 and beyond.

Why is professional learning essential?  

For a start:  

*   Learning and development's proven to **reduce work stress** and [increase happiness](https://www.inc.com/john-hall/how-to-break-down-employee-happiness-increase-chances-of-it-happening.html)
*   Research shows learning and innovating leads to [adaptive expertise](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptive_expertise#:~:text=Adaptive%20expertise%20is%20tied%20to,conceptual%20knowledge%2C%20and%20require%20transfer.) - the ability to apply knowledge to **novel problems**
*   [Research](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314511076_Enhancing_employee_engagement_through_training_and_development) shows training and development has a significant effect on **job satisfaction**, organisational commitment, advocacy, pride, **intention to stay**, and overall **employee engagement** score.

[Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2021/01/13/6-takeaways-from-the-association-for-talent-developments-2020-state-of-the-industry-report/?sh=245fdb167a78) was reporting that even prior to the pandemic, the amount of time employees spent on learning and development was increasing at a steady clip. With generative AI, upskilling has become more important than ever.

Why is learning and development essential? 

As far back as 2016, more than half of [surveyed workers](https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2016/10/06/the-state-of-american-jobs/) knew it would become _essential throughout their work life_ to keep up with changes in the workplace.

Now World Economic Forum’s [Future of Jobs Report 2025](https://www.weforum.org/publications/the-future-of-jobs-report-2025/in-full/3-skills-outlook/) shows that employers expect 39% of workers’ core skills to change by 2030.

It finds there is “…a growing focus on continuous learning, upskilling and reskilling programmes, enabling companies to better anticipate and manage future skill requirements.” – Future of Jobs Report 2025 

Surveyed employers show they want “an agile, innovate and collaborative” workforce.

They report their top core skills to be:

·        Analytical thinking (7 out of 10 companies consider it essential)

·        Resilience, flexibility and agility

·        Leadership and social influence (“underscoring the critical role of adaptability and collaboration alongside cognitive skills”)

·        Creative thinking

·        Motivation and self-awareness

Upskilling and reskilling revolution

Growth Faculty’s own [Future of Learning report](https://thegrowthfaculty.com/future-of-learning-report) shows three trends in learning:

*   A shift to coaching and mentoring for all employees, not just executives
*   AI-powered learning: Creating simulations, customising content, and providing personalised feedback
*   The rise of peer learning

Growth Faculty Head of Learning. Barbara Harvey, says peer or [social learning](https://thegrowthfaculty.com/articles/sociallearningleadershipdevelopment) is key.

“In a circular economy, what you have is that when an item enters into the economy, it doesn't leave. It's reused. It's recycled. It's repurposed. You go back to the roots of what works and what lasts and what endures.

“And I think we need to do that in learning. I think we need to go back to the origins of what remains in our minds and what's unforgettable.

“And that is community, that is [social learning](https://thegrowthfaculty.com/articles/sociallearningleadershipdevelopment), that is storytelling and deep human connection,” she says.

Future of Learning

Stable work is a rarer and rarer commodity.

Employees increasingly fear their skills may have a short shelf life, and they want their company's support to stay relevant.

A recent [Seek study](https://www.seek.com.au/employer/hiring-advice/why-learning-and-development-matters-in-the-workplace) showed:

*   67% of employees expected their employers to pay for their upskilling activities.
*   Only 25% had participated in formal training in the past year
*   39% were keen for more.

It concludes “a progressive employer will map skills and capabilities of the current workforce against the capabilities that they will want or need in the future, identify the gaps and then help employees to focus on how they can fill these gaps.”

Managers stand to get so much upside from supporting and providing professional development, it's something of a no-brainer to provide it to teams, even those working remotely.

Fear of not staying relevant

McKinsey [research](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/we-are-all-techies-now-digital-skill-building-for-the-future) reveals that while nearly all employees and C-suite leaders have some familiarity with gen AI tools, nearly half of employees want more formal training. And, that applies to upskilling generally.

Over the next decade, companies will need to:

*   Ensure that upskilling is a shared **priority** among senior leaders (as it is as [Specsavers](https://thegrowthfaculty.com/articles/specsavers-and-Growth-Faculty-success-story))
*   Leaders to role model [**lifelong learning**](https://thegrowthfaculty.com/articles/the-case-for-continuous-learning)

·        Put the learner in the driver’s seat. Build a culture of **learning and ownership**. [McKinsey](https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/business%20functions/organization/our%20insights/elevating%20learning%20and%20development/elevating-learning-and-development-intro.ashx) reports: _"With the growth of user-friendly digital-learning platforms, employees will take more ownership of their professional development....such innovations will require companies to devote more resources to training."_

*   Ensure that managers provide employees with appropriate **time and support** to learn. 
*   **Integrate learning** into day-to-day work to develop an always-on approach

Skills and traits needed towards 2030

There's no doubt many of your staff are feeling the strains of these changes, and general [work stress.](https://thegrowthfaculty.com/articles/half-of-workers-stressed-shows-gallup-survey)

[TalentCode](https://www.talentcodehr.com.au/) HR founder and managing director Trudy MacDonald told Growth Faculty’s [masterclass on resilience and accountability](https://thegrowthfaculty.com/articles/howtohelpburnoutatwork) that without intervention, many workers will end this year feeling exhausted, unmotivated, and not performing at their highest level.

An employer who ignores training and learning is also choosing to ignore their 3 key benefits:

*   **Retention** - 94% of employees say they'd stay at a company longer if it invested in their learning development (LinkedIn 2019 Workplace Learning Report)
*   **Performance** - [Study](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332537797_The_Importance_of_Training_and_Development_in_Employee_Performance_and_Evaluation) shows training and development is a significant motivator for employees.
*   **Engagement** - [Research](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314511076_Enhancing_employee_engagement_through_training_and_development) shows significant effect on job satisfaction, organisational commitment, advocacy, pride, intention to stay, and overall employee engagement score.

Benefits of L&D

Of all the employee engagement ideas that work, online L&D is one of the most effective, inexpensive, flexible, and time-effective forms of HR training. Growth Faculty’s live virtual learning sessions feature some of the world's most influential thought leaders in business and leadership, many of them focusing on AI, change leadership, and adaptable leadership.

Download our [2025 Program](https://ideas.growthfaculty.com/l/1071223/2024-06-12/5q9w34) to see who's up next.

Online learning with Growth Faculty

A [2023 study](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/373775939_Employee_Training_and_Development_Enhancing_Employee_Performance_-_A_Study) shows investment in training and development improves outcomes for both employee and employer via:

*   Greater levels of job satisfaction
*   Fostering a sense of security
*   Promoting employee engagement
*   Cultivating skills to enhance their overall capabilities and flexibility to succeed in  potential future roles
*   Generating a perpetual cycle of expansion (where an increase in performance requires increasingly sophisticated avenues of training and development)

Multiple positive effects of training and development

Right now scared and stressed managers and staff are assessing their future.

Continuing professional development makes them more likely to _want to stay_, according to [Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/nazbeheshti/2019/01/16/10-timely-statistics-about-the-connection-between-employee-engagement-and-wellness/?sh=4674b84022a0).

And, McKinsey highlights Nick van Dam's [Elevating Learning and Development report](https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/business%20functions/people%20and%20organizational%20performance/our%20insights/elevating%20learning%20and%20development/elevating-learning-and-development-intro.pdf) which shows a large number of people will need to learn new skills to _remain employable_.

Team training and development is proven to:

*   Attract and retain talent
*   Develop people capabilities
*   Motivate and engage employees
*   Create a values-based culture
*   Build an employer brand

_"Today, L&D leaders must design and implement interventions that support informal learning, including coaching and mentoring, on-the-job instruction, apprenticeships, leadership shadowing, action-based learning, **on-demand access** to digital learning, and **lunch-and-learn** sessions." -_ McKinsey Elevating Learning and Development report.

Retaining staff through learning and development investment

Showing nearly a third of CEOs now _actively champion_ learning, LinkedIn's Workplace Learning Report back in 2021 described well the rising impact of the learning and development (L&D) discipline as:

*   A leadership and management development engine
*   A growth engine for career trajectories and meaningful business impact
*   An onboarding pro
*   An expert in scaling learning across the organisation

From the top: CEOs get that learning is an investment not a cost

[Fast Company](https://www.fastcompany.com/3014443/why-being-an-eternal-newbie-leads-to-awesome-work) says being an "eternal newbie" is critical, and it's important to develop a beginner's mind.

This means seeking out new information and teachings and being unafraid to experiment with different theories and methods.

**How to find the right professional development course or training:**

*   Look for proven speakers or thought leaders in their field, preferably aligned with respected businesses, institutions or universities.
*   Check out which other organisations the training provider has worked with.
*   Hone in on what skill-sets your team needs (eg. trust, time management, negotiation, disruption, leadership)
*   Read any FAQs and T&Cs.
*   Schedule the training course in your calendar to ensure you don't miss it.
*   Take notes during the session
*   To embed the knowledge, implement learnings as soon as possible, try to teach what you've learned to others, write an article, or do a presentation on the content.
*   Write to the training provider with feedback or questions.

Where to start on your lifelong learning journey

Leadership development and other professional training is on the rise, and agile companies know it. Employes expect their employers will pay to update their skills. They're scared, stressed, and working hard, and they want professional development that's efficient, effective and convenient for them. The key is to ensure your own team is getting the training they want and in a way that they want it.

Photo by [Vitaly Gariev](https://unsplash.com/@silverkblack?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash) on [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/photos/woman-presenting-to-a-group-in-a-modern-office-ddW9WMz77F0?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash)

The essential role of learning and development in 2025

Research shows lifelong learning contributes to happiness

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Stay Inspired

The essential role of learning and development in 2025

Research shows lifelong learning contributes to happiness

Keep informedStay Inspired

Keep informed
Stay Inspired