Unlocking the Future: Upskilling Strategies for 2024 and Beyond 

By Bill O’Shea

Businesses face a critical and growing skills gap. According to the World Economic Forum, six in ten employees will require training before 2027 and estimates suggest the talent shortage will exceed 85 million people by 2030. 

How we navigate the shift to the skills-based economy will be key and that starts with an honest assessment of where skills gaps exist within organisations. Last year, Udemy launched its Integrated Skills Framework to provide a digestible way for leaders to understand their company’s internal skills landscape, identify critical skills gaps, and help employees demonstrate their earned skills. This last point was complemented by the launch of Udemy’s badging offering. Badges are digital proof of skills acquisition and help organisations recognise different competency levels that exist within teams.  Who is the expert? Who has a working knowledge of specific technology? These are questions badges can help answer and, applied at an organisational level, reveal where skills gaps exist. 

Skills acquisition and badges are incredibly motivating for teams. Online learning platforms continue to be an excellent solution to drive employee engagement to upskill. According to the CIPD over two-thirds (68%) of L&D leaders agree that they are successful at using the learning technologies available and nearly half (48%) of respondents working in L&D functions have reported an increase in digital learning. 

Now we have the means, the next challenge is to determine where should businesses focus their efforts in L&D for the year ahead,  According to our recent Global Learning & Skills Trends Report, there are three key learning and skills trends for 2024: 

1. Investment in upskilling technology 

It’s no secret that AI has become an essential driver of successful businesses, helping to accelerate processes, eliminate repetitive tasks and deliver faster and better insights. A recent government survey revealed that approximately 15 per cent of businesses in the UK had adopted at least one form of AI technology by January 2022. Consequently, the demand for AI-related roles is escalating, as evidenced by research from work marketplace, Upwork, which found that the number of weekly job postings related to generative artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT, Bard, and Coral, leapt more than 450% from a year ago. 

While the race to adopt AI solutions may be gathering pace, companies must ensure their staff are upskilled to work alongside new technologies, allowing them to both transform and future-proof their staff and businesses. Microsoft recently surveyed global leaders and found that 82% confirmed that their employees will need new skills to be prepared for the growth of generative AI. This will allow not only the automation of repetitive, time-consuming, and routine tasks but also allow employees more time to focus on creative and strategic work. 

In response to this upskilling need, online learning platforms are facing huge demand. Udemy, for example, has seen a staggering 2.8 million enrolments in generative AI courses on its platform and has emerged as the leading online education platform for ChatGPT and generative AI courses. In the UK between March and July 2023, ChatGPT course enrolments grew 578% on the Udemy platform, and globally over the past year the platform witnessed a 60% increase in AI-related training, with ChatGPT courses surging by 5,266% in Q1 2023 alone, highlighting learners’ proactivity to upskill in the technology. Furthermore, this sudden interest is seeing the development of quality in learning on the learning platforms. For example, we’ve recently launched our Udemy Intelligent Skills Platform, which empowers organisations to not only discover where their skills gaps are but also support employee training and development, enabling faster real-world application of new skills and integrating learning into existing workflows. 

2. Developing strong leaders

Alongside all the changes in the way we work, we must also change the way we lead. The traditional profile of a leader who is expected to have all of the answers and lead from the top down is being replaced by the leader who is the ultimate learner. It is these leaders who can help teams to adapt, innovate, work horizontally, and engage partners. This is especially important as new generations, like Gen Z, enter the workforce with distinctive needs and perspectives, and as  AI becomes a common workplace tool. These new  forward-thinking leaders will need to embed these technologies into their strategies creating a future-focused, adaptable company and workforce. 

Gallup found that more than half of global employees are struggling with burnout, daily negative emotions, and a sense that their organisation cares little about their well-being. To solve this, and reduce the risk of high turnover and declines in employees’ well-being, organisations must invest in their leaders, and in turn, these leaders must invest in their teams, to help them navigate all the changes in the workplace that we have seen and will see while staying productive and avoiding mental and physical burnout. 

3. Companies care more about skills than resumes

Companies are increasingly looking to hire based on skills, while formal qualifications like degrees are becoming less important. TestGorilla’s The State of Skills-Based Hiring 2023 report found that three-quarters of companies now use skills-based assessments throughout their hiring process, up from 56% last year. 

With this approach, companies are finding that skill-based hires align more closely with long-term strategic goals and are better equipped to upskill existing teams. According to TestGorilla’s research,  over 80% of the employers surveyed noted this form of hiring was more predictive of on-job success and leads to new hires staying longer in their roles. 

In conclusion, investing in workforce skills is crucial for business success. Trends for 2024 include upskilling for AI integration, fostering adaptable leadership, and prioritising skills-based hiring. Addressing these trends ensures readiness for the challenges of the future and sustains competitiveness in a dynamic landscape. 

About the Author

Bill O’Shea is the Vice President of EMEA for Udemy, the global marketplace for learning and teaching online. Bill supports the growth of its corporate learning solution and brings over 25 years of sales and marketing experience to the role.