Upskilling 2.0: How HR Promotes Future Skills – Beyond Standard Trainings

Irion Dekov
Jun 4
6 min read

Updated: Jun 10

24 minutes – is that all the future we get?

On average, employees have just 24 minutes per week to dedicate to learning. That’s only 1% of their working time (Deloitte, 2020) – less than many spend waiting in line for coffee. And yet, it seems like future skills are the currency of tomorrow's workforce.

So, is the real question still whether people want to learn? I think it is much more: How can we as the company create a space and give just the right support employees need to make learning possible?

The answer lies not only, but mainly within Human Resources, which is a great chance to make change. Not in more learning content – but in better learning frameworks.

Person in green writing in a notebook on a wooden desk with a coffee, keyboard, and a monitor showing a video call. Bright, sunny setting.

The progress of learning

Think about, what an employee needs to do in 24 minutes a week:

First, the learning needs must be seen and clearly identified. Then, the personal learning goals have to be meaningful and intrinsically motivating to start the actual learning process. Third, the suitable learning formats must be accessible and relevant. The learning then, of course, doesn’t happen when getting through the material and gaining knowledge. The knowledge gained must be applied – not once, but continuously. And this takes time and needs the correct surroundings. So, adaptation must be allowed – implementation is rarely perfect from day one. And last but not least, to maintain motivation for the next weeks’ 24 minutes, the progress must be visible and feedback is needed.

This is just a real quick breakdown of the progress of learning from start to finish. This is what is expected from employees in 24 minutes. Achievable in a satisfactory extent? I don’t think so.

It is clear: No one can do it alone. It takes a suitable system. It takes HR. And it takes a switch in a company’s mindset to create a learning culture that creates room for personal development.

What is Upskilling?

So, the question now is: How? How does a new way of upskilling help employees to learn and the company to teach just the right skills to the right people?

Upskilling is a promising alternative to traditional trainings. It marks a shift from static, top-down training formats to dynamic, employee-centred learning strategies. Instead of long, isolated training events, it promotes continuous, personalized, and contextual learning.Compared to traditional learning, Upskilling focuses on personalization, daily integration, and learner autonomy – making learning more relevant, accessible, and engaging.

Why don’t people learn the skills we clearly need?

Future Skills like resilience, critical thinking, tech literacy, and collaboration are in high demand. According to the World Economic Forum, 50% of workers will need significant reskilling by 2025. But the reality at work blocks the path to learning them. As seen in the beginning, it is a long way to a successful learning experience, but what are the actual barriers?

There are individual-level barriers like low self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997) leading do an "I can't learn this."-mindset. A lack of motivation or relevance (Deci & Ryan, 2000): "Why should I care?" also don’t help. A third barrier is a cognitive overload (Sweller, 1994): Too much content, too little clarity – to be found often in traditional trainings.

But there are also multiple organizational barriers like no time for learning (Billett, 2001) or a lack of psychological safety (Edmondson, 1999), where fear blocks experimentation and growth. With no follow-ups, the effort goes unseen – motivation drops. Top-down mandatory trainings (Illeris, 2007) often end up being meaningless to learners. This can be intensified by poor content-job fit (Tannenbaum & Yukl, 1992).

Mix all of them or even just a few together – the perfect cocktail to a scaring learning experience is created. Even the most motivated learners can’t thrive without the right environment.

What actually works: Innovative learning strategies

Forget the catalogue. Here’s what drives real learning:

(1) Microlearning is understood as bite-sized, targeted learning that fits into daily schedules. Think short videos, daily nudges, or flash challenges.

Its strength lies in repetition, relevance, and low cognitive load. Learners stay engaged without being overwhelmed, and content becomes accessible at the exact moment it's needed. It’s also measurable – making it a favourite for L&D teams focused on ROI.

It is effective for engagement and retention (Wigati, Iriani & Khaerudin, 2023).

(2) Job Crafting empowers employees to shape their roles to fit their strengths, goals, and growth needs. It integrates learning naturally into the job itself.This approach supports on-the-job learning, which increases the relevance and retention of new skills. It also boosts self-efficacy by giving employees autonomy over their learning path, encouraging exploration and innovation.Learning in the flow of work removes the boundary between job and learning, helping teams adapt quickly to new challenges.

It increases self-efficacy and ownership of learning.

(3) Informal and social learning through slack threads, mentoring, and communities of practice makes implementing knowledge and learning easy. Learning mainly happens in conversation and reflection. So Noe, Tews & Marand (2013) found, that up to 90% of workplace learning is informal.

(4) Psychological safety and error culture supports stronger learning (Edmondson, 1999). When people feel safe to ask questions or fail, they innovate and improve.

How HR can create the right environment for upskilling

Now that we’ve explored what actually works in fostering future skills, the crucial question becomes: How can HR put these principles into action?

Make it strategic…

… by tying Upskilling to workforce planning and business goals. It’s not a side project – it’s the strategy.

Build the infrastructure…

… by first setting aside learning time. Provide access to platforms and track progress. Measure learning, not just participation, but remember to keep it motivational. Learning is part of daily work through e.g. job crafting, shadowing or communities. Make sure, official learning time, tool access, and learning budgets are available.

Foster psychological safety…

… by training leaders to become role models, so leaders actively model and encourage learning behaviour.

Normalize empowering and constructive feedback and experimentation. Show employees, that questions are welcome and making mistakes without fear of punishment is standard.

Enable personalization and the integration of learning…

Replace one-size-fits-all with personalized paths based on real skill gaps. Let employees co-create their goals, so it fits individual roles, goals and knowledge levels. Showing the learning strategy and goals of the company transparently to the employees helps setting individual clear goals. According to Deci and Ryan (2000), autonomy and relevance fosters motivation.

Enable social learning…

… via peer groups, coaching, and knowledge-sharing platforms. Include employees in the process – their feedback, their wishes and ideas.

Focus on transfer…

… by creating a space for practice. Link learning to projects. Celebrate progress visibly. This includes also visible appreciation for the learning progress of everyone.Transfer needs opportunity and support (Baldwin & Ford, 1988).

Three women smiling and using laptops with stickers, sitting on a sofa in a bright room. One wears a striped sweater, another a cap.

Final thoughts

HR is no longer a training provider – it's a designer of the whole learning environment and a chance to make learning a motivating experience.

The goal isn’t to push more learning content. It’s to build an ecosystem where learning is possible, meaningful, and ongoing.

The future of learning isn’t scheduled – it’s embedded.