The Skills of Tomorrow: Turbocharging Your People For The Next Big Thing

The skills your workforce needs tomorrow might not even exist today. Just pause for a moment and let the import of that statement sink in.  As a CEO, you’re steering your company through a whirlwind of change. AI, automation, and new market demands are flipping industries upside down faster than ever.

Are you setting your people up to keep pace? Your company’s success depends on a learning and development (L&D) strategy that’s forward-thinking, gets your team fired up, and lines up with your big-picture goals.

You’re in the driver’s seat to rethink how your people learn and grow. Tech is moving quicker than you can update a job description. Hybrid and remote work are shaking up the old-school ways of mentoring. And your employees—whether they’re fresh-faced Gen Z or seasoned pros—are hungry for training that feels personal, relevant, and tied to their career paths. L&D isn’t just an HR checkbox anymore—it’s your secret weapon for keeping talent, building a meaningful culture, and staying ahead of the competition.

Here’s why upskilling needs to be on your radar and how you can make it happen.

Your team’s skills are your business’s future 

The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 says 59% of your workforce will need serious training by 2030 because AI and automation are rewriting job roles. Employers foresee that 29% can be upskilled in their current roles, 19% can be retrained and redeployed elsewhere, but 11% might get left behind without help. Those numbers? They’re your people—your talent, your growth engine, your bottom line.

The business case for upskilling is undeniable. LinkedIn found that 94% of employees stick around longer if you invest in their growth. In a world where finding great talent is tough and losing it is expensive, a solid L&D plan is your best bet for keeping your team engaged. If your people can’t keep up with change, they’ll burn out, disengage, or worse, become irrelevant. By doubling down on learning, you’re dodging those risks and setting your company up to tackle whatever’s next.

Hybrid work and AI are changing the game 

Hybrid and remote work have thrown a wrench in how people learn on the job. JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon bluntly told young workers: “You can’t learn working from your basement.” Those watercooler chats and hands-on mentoring moments? They’re harder to come by now, and that’s a problem, especially for your up-and-coming talent.

Meanwhile, it’s likely your team’s already jumping on AI tools without much guidance. Deloitte’s 2025 Global Trends Report shows 67% of millennials and 50% of Gen Z in Australia are using generative AI at work, but only 14–21% have had proper training. That’s a recipe for mistakes, missed opportunities, and inefficiencies. Your employees need learning that’s easy to access, fits their roles, and weaves into their day-to-day.

As a CEO, you’ve got to push HR to close these gaps. Think AI training to make sure your team’s using those tools like pros, virtual mentorship to keep knowledge flowing, and upskilling managers to lead in a digital world. Curiosity and a willingness to learn are must-haves—without them, your team’s going to struggle to keep up.

Personal learning tied to your goals 

Your people want training that’s built for them—that’s tailored to their goals, available when they need it, and actually matters to their jobs. Companies like Siemens are setting the standard with tools like LinkedIn Learning’s MyGrowth/My Skills, giving 254,000 employees personalized learning paths. Udemy’s 2025 Global Learning Trends Report also points to AI-driven tools that suggest skill plans, verify credentials, and let peers share knowledge at scale.

For you, this is a chance to sync L&D with your company’s major strategic objectives. Focus on skills like AI literacy, digital communication, or data-driven decision-making to keep your team driving innovation and staying competitive. These tools let HR scale learning without losing that personal touch, weaving skill-building right into the workday.

Why L&D is your competitive edge

Here’s why investing in L&D is essential:

1. Keeps Your People Around: 94% of employees say they’ll stay longer if you help them grow, saving you the headache of turnover.
2. Boosts Engagement: Upskilling shows your team they’ve got a future with you, which pumps up their motivation and performance.
3. Makes You Nimble: 89% of L&D leaders ay upskilling helps companies pivot faster when change hits.
4. Keeps You in the Game: Skills like AI and digital collaboration aren’t optional—they’re how you stay relevant.
5. Builds a Kickass Culture: Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath nailed it: “The days of four-year college courses are over. Lifelong learning is the new norm.” A learning-focused culture sparks innovation and keeps everyone engaged.

Five ways to lead the charge 

Here’s how you can make it happen:

1. Get a skills snapshot: Tell HR to figure out what your team can do now and what they’ll need to do to hit your future goals. Use diagnostic tools to spot the gaps.
2. Mix up the learning vibe: Back a blend of online courses, videos, peer coaching, and hands-on projects to make learning part of the daily workflow.
3. Reward the learners: Tie new skills to promotions, bonuses, or new opportunities. Look at Amazon—they invested $1.2 billion on free training, including college tuition for 300,000 employees. Beth Galetti, Senior Vice President of Human Resources said, “For us, creating these opportunities is just the beginning. While many of our employees want to build their careers here, for others it might be a steppingstone to different aspirations. We think it’s important to invest in our employees to help them gain new skills and create more professional options for themselves.”
4. Make learning easy: Get microlearning onto platforms your team already uses, like Slack or Teams, so it’s not a hassle.
5. Track the wins: Use tools like LinkedIn’s ROI Playbook to see how L&D boosts performance, keeps people around, and grows your revenue.

Lead the learning revolution 

As a CEO, you’re the one setting the tone for where your company’s headed. In a world where disruption never sleeps, L&D isn’t just HR’s job—it’s your key to building a team that’s ready for anything. By betting big on upskilling, you’re giving your people the tools to innovate, adapt, and deliver.

Your business’s future depends on the skills your team builds today. Act decisively to ensure they’re ready.

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The Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Index evaluates the performance of the 11 nations currently offering operational Citizenship By Investment (CBI) programs: St Kitts and Nevis (Saint Kitts and Nevis), Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia (St. Lucia), Antigua & Barbuda, Nauru, Vanuatu, Türkiye (Turkey), São Tomé and Príncipe, Jordan, and Egypt.