Companies who wish to grow must embrace helping employees upskill to energize and retain talent whilst incorporates Artificial Intelligence skills within the business, said LinkedIn Learning’s 2024 Workplace Learning Report.

The top 5 L&D focus areas of 2024 are: aligning learning programs for business goals, upskilling employees, creating a culture of wellbeing, helping employees develop their careers and improving employee retention. 

“In a world awake to AI’s impact, skill building is no longer simply a perk for employees — it’s a priority for organisational success. So it’s no surprise that aligning learning to business goals is L&D’s top focus area for the second year in a row,” the report said. 

“At the same time, a new priority demands attention. In a single year, helping employees develop their careers climbed from No. 9 on L&D’s priority list to No. 4,” added LinkedIn.

Moving forward, organisations will succeed by embracing growth that will include: Employee growth, through learning and career development, spurs company growth. The report highlights that Gen Z, the cohort of workers born after 1996, are the most keen to learn and grow.

LinkedIn shows that  AI will become more common as a coach, advisor, or problem-solving assistant in the near future, adding value as a coach. Moreover, companies with strong learning cultures report higher rates of retention, more internal mobility, and a healthier management pipeline in comparison to those with smaller levels of commitment.

“While AI-powered coaching is not the only resource companies can tap into, it could be the answer to a problem that’s dogged L&D pros — how to provide personalized career development at scale,” said the report.

There remains to be challenges, as the number of L&D professionals who expect to have more resources is down 10 points from 2022. Around 38% say they expect a larger budget in 2024. LinkedIn said that for the third year in a row, most weighty initiatives (expensive, one-size-fits-all programs that aim to reskill hundreds or thousands of employees at once) are still at the planning and activation stages.

However, the report cites interests from C-suite with more interests to hold conversations about L&D amid skill gaps around AI and other tools. LinkedIn Executive Confidence Index, forecasts that within the next 6 months, 9 out of 10 global executives plan to either increase or keep steady their investment in L&D, including upskilling and reskilling.

Meanwhile, the percentage of learning pros who say L&D has a seat at the executive table has grown 5 percentage points during the past two years, to nearly 60% in 2024.

The report proposes various steps for learning leaders, including embracing analytics and fostering data literacy. 

Moreover, L&D leaders can strengthen their work by tracking relevant metrics and gauging tangible business enhancements associated with learning initiatives, LinkedIn explains. Those who track metrics should include performance evaluations, workforce productivity, and staff retention.

Nonetheless, in the era of AI, leaders can further refine their “human” skills — or soft skills — such as in interpersonal communication, public speaking, problem-solving, and team management abilities.

“As skills evolve to meet AI opportunities, learning and growth will be central to jobs. Increasingly, daily work will include microlearning (or even “nanolearning”) — short bursts of instruction to help people make progress in small bites. Engaging, personalized, and flexible learning in the flow of work helps people solve specific problems and invest in their futures without dropping a ball,” added the report.