In its Future of Jobs Report 2025, the World Economic Forum calls out the following finding from its Future of Jobs survey:
Skill gaps are categorically considered the biggest barrier to business transformation by Future of Jobs Survey respondents, with 63% of employers identifying them as a major barrier over the 2025-2030 period. Accordingly, 85% of employers surveyed plan to prioritize upskilling their workforce.
APQC’s Current State of Learning and Development Survey shows that 96% of employers have already increased spending on learning and development (L&D).
Given the critical role that L&D plays in their future success, organizations must use L&D budgets wisely.
Using the results of our learning and development survey, we identified 10 proven practices that organizations can use to drive success in closing skills gaps through L&D. Read on to learn about these 10 practices that the top performing L&D functions in our survey are significantly more likely to use compared to all other surveyed organizations.
APQC members can get more details on each driver, as well as insights into our research methodology, by downloading our Learning & Development Blueprint for Success report.
TOP 10 PERFORMANCE DRIVERS FOR L&D
- Spend less and manage budgets effectively. Top performing L&D functions spend less and indicate that this level of spending is sufficient.
- Employ the right staff. L&D top performers have the right number of staff with the right qualifications.
- Outsource strategically. L&D top performers make effective use of outsourcing.
- Efficiently adopt a range of L&D technology. L&D top performers adopt a wider range of L&D technologies in a more cost-efficient manner.
- Collect high-quality learning data. L&D top performers collect learning data that is accurate and accessible.
- Consistently measure learning. L&D top performers are more effective at measuring learning.
- Gain insight from learning analytics. L&D top performers make good use of the latest developments in learning analytics.
- Demonstrate agility in response to change. L&D top performers are positioned to respond quickly to change to meet individual and business learning needs.
- Encourage a learning culture. L&D top performers operate in organizations that support a culture of learning.
- Provide a superior learner experience. L&D top performers are responsive to learner preferences and provide a customized experience designed to improve attention and retention.
APQC member organizations have access to resources to support them in implementing these approaches, including the resources in the following content collections.
APQC L&D Content Collections
- Blueprint for Success: Learning & Development
- Building a Solid L&D Foundation for Evolving Learning Needs
- Understanding Training and Development Benchmarks and Best Practices
Not yet an APQC member? Check out these on-demand webinars which provide more insights from our L&D survey.
On-Demand APQC Webinars