Why upskilling has overtaken compliance as the top L&D priority in 2025

2025 is the year we’ve seen a shift in L&D priorities from compliance to capability. This year’s Linkedin Workplace Learning Report calls it a ‘skills crisis’:

Almost half (49%) of L&D professionals reporting that their executives are concerned about employees lacking the right skills to drive business strategy forward.

If you attended this year’s Learning Technologies Conference in London, you may have seen the presentation by David Perring and Myles Runham, who presented the findings of the Fosway report. For the first time, upskilling and reskilling topped the list of learning priorities for the year, finally overtaking compliance training. The report was eye-opening:

These figures highlight a widespread disconnect between the pace of business change and the current capability of learning strategies to keep up. Simply put: people are hungry for growth, but many organisations haven’t caught up with what that really means in practice.

Why prioritise upskilling?

Artificial intelligence and technological advancements are rewriting the rulebook on what skills will be most valuable in future. Technology is reshaping how work gets done, but it’s also redefining what work looks like. The skills that were “nice-to-have” a few years ago are now mission-critical.

According to the World Economic Forum, 50% of all employees will require reskilling by the end of this year.

But while automation is changing what today’s jobs look like, it’s people who are still at the heart of every organisation’s success. And increasingly, they’re expecting more of their employers. They aren’t just looking for training; they’re looking for progress. They want to grow in their roles, see a future at their organisation and feel like their skills are being invested in. If they don’t see that path forward, they’ll leave to find a company where they can.

According to LinkedIn’s data, a lack of career development opportunities is the number one reason people quit. On the flip side, 94% of employees say they’d stay longer at a company if it invested in helping them learn and grow.

They don’t care about promotions alone, but rather the flexibility to move; whether that’s into new projects, new roles or new capabilities that stretch and challenge them. When learning becomes part of the culture, people feel seen, valued and motivated to contribute.

The business case for upskilling

While the shift toward upskilling is certainly people-driven, there’s a strong business case there too. When organisations commit to upskilling, they reap the benefits including:

• Reduced turnover – If employees can see a future with your organisation, they’re far more likely to stay.

• Greater agility – A workforce equipped with current, in-demand skills is far more able to respond quickly to change.

• Stronger leadership pipelines – Succession planning is made far easier by robust upskilling and talent management processes. By identifying future leaders, you can prepare development plans that help them progress.

• Better internal mobility – When people build transferable skills, they become more flexible across the organisation.

Organisations that prioritise upskilling are going beyond just keeping pace – they’re pulling ahead. When your people are adaptable, curious and motivated to build new skills, your business can respond more quickly to change, deliver better service and bring new ideas to life faster.

It makes your company more attractive to top talent, too; after all, people want to work for companies that support their growth. Over time, this kind of learning culture becomes your organisation’s advantage, helping to outperform the competition.

How Totara supports the upskilling era

L&D teams are increasingly moving away from rigid, top-down training models and looking for tools that support continuous, flexible and personalised learning. That’s where Totara Perform comes in.

Totara Perform is designed to help organisations build the right skills, in the right people, at the right time.

This is done not just through traditional training, but by embedding development into the everyday flow of work. You can weave skills and competency frameworks right into your performance management process, which means learning and growth are treated as separate things, but are part of the same journey. It also means you’re not juggling systems or chasing spreadsheets. You can track progress against goals, run reviews and check-ins, spot leadership potential and map out realistic growth paths for every team member, all in one place.

And, because everything’s connected, you get clear, actionable insights. You’ll know when someone’s ready for their next step, where the skill gaps are and how to support people before small issues turn into bigger ones. It gives managers the clarity and confidence to make smarter decisions when supporting their teams, without the time and administrative burden.

Why compliance still matters

With skills being the hot topic at the moment, it’s easy to think compliance has taken a back seat. However, the need to remain compliant isn’t going away (and nor should it). Compliance training remains the foundation of a safe, ethical and legally sound workplace. It keeps your organisation aligned with industry regulations, protects against risk and ensures that everyone knows the non-negotiables: whether that’s health and safety, data privacy or understanding security protocols.

What’s changed, however, is the balance. For years, compliance dominated L&D conversations, often at the expense of discussing long-term development. Now, organisations are widening their focus. They’re recognising that while compliance keeps the wheels turning, it’s capability that drives the business forward. Platforms like Totara Learn and Totara Perform, which form the Totara Suite, make it easy to manage both: delivering essential compliance training and supporting continuous learning, all in one central place.

Upskilling might be the hot topic of 2025. But compliance still provides the structure that allows all that growth to happen safely and sustainably. It’s not either/or, but both, working together to equip your workforce for the future.