4th Annual

2020
Workplace
Learning
Report
L&D in a new decade:
taking the strategic long view
Contents

Introduction 3
L&D continues to garner both budget and buy-in 4
Industry standards for measuring impact and engagement have yet to emerge 14
Tap managers to drive engagement and create a culture of learning 21
Digital transformation is catalyzing an upskilling and reskilling revolution 30
Final thoughts 42
Methodology 43
Acknowledgements 44
About LinkedIn Learning 45

2020 Workplace Learning Report 2

Introduction

We asked L&D pros, people One thing is for sure—the stakes have never been higher for
getting it right.
managers, and learners In this report, we will explore the answers to four questions:

globally about their priorities,

challenges, and what really 1. How are learning leaders resourced to scale learning and
engage executives to create a culture of learning?

inspires them to learn. What

2. How do L&D pros measure the impact of learning and define
we found may surprise you. learner engagement?

After years of being under-resourced, L&D budgets are expected to con- 3. What can talent developers do to transform managers into
tinue to grow—shifting from Instructor-Led Training (ILT) to online learn- learning champions?
ing—and executive buy-in continues to build.

Because of these factors, L&D pros are newly positioned as critical stra- 4. How are your peers upskilling and reskilling employees to
tegic business partners —key to growth and innovation. As we enter prepare for what’s ahead?
2020, talent developers are focused on finding innovative ways to drive
engagement, activate managers, and measure the business impact
of learning. Simultaneously, they are looking ahead, preparing for the You’ll also hear from learning leaders from Kraft Heinz, Verizon, MGM
upskilling and reskilling revolution coming in the next 3-5 years, when Resorts International, Kellogg’s, LinkedIn, and Novartis who share how
digital transformation and automation are expected to have a greater they are harnessing these trends to drive engagement today and develop
impact on the workforce globally. the skills needed for tomorrow.

2020 Workplace Learning Report 3

L&D continues
to garner both
budget and buy-in

2020 Workplace Learning Report 4

L&D budgets continue to grow
and shift to online learning

It wasn’t that long ago when the L&D department’s sole focus was com- % of L&D pros % of L&D pros who % of L&D pros in
pliance training. It is an incredibly important and necessary box to check. who expect their expect to spend more on India who expect
But over the last decade, the L&D discipline has become so much more. budget to grow online learning globally budgets to grow
A leadership and management development engine. An onboarding 50
pro. A master of Instructor-Led Training (ILT). An expert in scaling learn-
ing across the organization by offering online learning programs. Most
importantly, it has become a growth engine for career trajectories and
25
57% 72%
meaningful business impact. 0
2018 2019 2020
Senior leaders understand the value that L&D delivers to their organi- 35% 43% 37%
zations. That’s why the constant struggle for budget and resources has
diminished over the last few years. In fact, in the LinkedIn Learning 2019
Workplace Learning Report, only 27% of L&D pros cited budget
Budgets continue to shift from ILT to online learning
constraints as a top concern, down from 49% in 2017.
in 2020, helping L&D scale learning globally

This year’s findings bring more good news about learning budgets.
Consistent with previous years, L&D budgets and online learning ILT budgets Online learning
investments are on the rise. More than a third of L&D pros globally decreasing budgets increasing
are expecting their budgets to grow year over year (and it’s much
higher in India); 57% of talent developers plan to spend more on their
38% Spend less 9% Spend less
online learning programs; and 38% expect to spend less on ILT.
27% Spend the same 18% Spend the same
21% Spend more 57% Spend more

2020 Workplace Learning Report | L&D budget & buy-in 5

L&D pros spend most of their time
building and sourcing content

Some say that the way we spend our time defines who we are. The same We know that blended learning, or a mix of in-person and online
is true for talent developers. Based on survey results, they wear many hats learning, is foundational to many learning programs. That’s why we
with building and sourcing content being the biggest percentage of their asked L&D pros how much of their time is spent managing their online
time. The rest of their activities are a mix of both strategic and tactical learning solutions and in-person training. Based on data we’ve gathered
activities—from creating learning content to working with managers and over the last three years, we found that talent developers are spending
executives. By having large libraries of content to help quickly curate and more time on online learning and less on instructor-led training
personalize learning recommendations, we expect that the time spent initiatives, indicating that online learning is playing a bigger part in
building and sourcing content will go down over time. blended learning programs.

How much time L&D spend on the following activities: 57% of L&D pros report that 37% of L&D pros spend less
they spend more time with time with instructor-led
29% Building or sourcing learning programs and content online learning than they did training than they did three
17% Building and delivering compliance training three years ago. years ago.
16% Promoting learning programs to employees
15% Identifying skills gaps
15% Spending time with managers to identify learning needs
10% Championing learning programs to executives

57% 37%

2020 Workplace Learning Report | L&D budget & buy-in 6

L&D has executive buy-in, but championship
is the next big opportunity

According to the 2019 PWC CEO Survey, “79% percent of CEOs

worldwide are concerned that a lack of essential skills in their workforce
Percentage of L&D pros who said that executive
is threatening the future growth of their organization. This compares
to just 63% in 2014—confirming that concern over skills has risen in line
buy-in is not a challenge 83%
with the advent of new technologies over the past five years.”

55%
Percentage of L&D pros who use executives
Our research is consistent with those findings. 83% of L&D pros said to encourage learning
that executive buy-in is not a challenge. Yet, it’s one thing to buy into
a strategy and quite another to champion it across the organization.
Here’s where the opportunity lays. Only 27% of L&D pros report that
27%
Percentage of L&D pros who report that their
their CEOs are active champions of learning, even though CEOs spend CEO’s are actively championing learning
20% more time learning soft skills than their employees.

Percentage of L&D pros who state that

executive buy-in is a challenge 17%

Percentage of learners
According to LinkedIn Learning data,
34% whose executive team
encouraged them to learn CEOs spend 20% more time learning soft skills
than the average learner.

2020 Workplace Learning Report | L&D budget & buy-in 7

How do you get your executives involved in learning?

Takeaway LinkedIn Learning Course

Creating and curating executive content is a great tactic to get your
executives more engaged in actively championing learning. It also drives Communicating to drive action
employee engagement. If your CEO teaches a course on leadership, Alexia Vernon helps you develop the mindset
your employees will be inspired to take that course because of proximity and skills needed to see results.
and relevancy. Your CEO is known to every employee and the CEO’s
leadership advice is relevant to the employees’ career advancement.

Watch course >

2020 Workplace Learning Report | L&D budget & buy-in 8

Executives in large companies
are leading the way

Given that enterprises are generally more impacted by global economic L&D professionals at enterprise companies understand the power of the
shifts, digital transformation, and automation, it makes sense that C-suite. Still, the numbers are much lower than expected, given the urgent
executives at these larger companies understand and value the impact need to upskill and reskill their workforce.
of learning. And, L&D leaders are leveraging these decision makers
to champion learning in new and exciting ways. These executives in Percentage of L&D professionals who leverage
executives to champion learning
particular believe that closing skills gaps is an urgent business priority.
Although the numbers are not as big, it’s encouraging that companies of 75
50% Small organizations
all sizes are leveraging their executives to cultivate a culture of learning. (200 – 1,000 employees)
50
51% Mid-market organizations
(1,001 – 5,000 employees)
Percentage of L&D professionals who stated that their executives 25
believe that closing skills gaps is an urgent business priority 60% Enterprises
0 (5,001+ employees)

75
27% Small organizations
(200 – 1,000 employees) To encourage learning across the organization, senior executives in
50 enterprise companies are more likely to create mandatory learning.
29% Mid-market organizations
(1,001 – 5,000 employees)
25 Percentage of L&D professionals who create corporate
38% Enterprises initiatives or executive mandates for employees to learn
0 (5,001+ employees)
75
26% Small organizations
(200 – 1,000 employees)
50
28% Mid-market organizations
(1,001 – 5,000 employees)
25
36% Enterprises
0 (5,001+ employees)

2020 Workplace Learning Report | L&D budget & buy-in 9

 3 takeaways from the
“ LinkedIn Learning Challenge”

At LinkedIn, our L&D team likes to dream big and try out new ideas Here’s what we learned:
to drive learner engagement. Last year, we hosted a LinkedIn Learning
Challenge, a week-long, company-wide competition where each
executive’s organization competed to be the team who learned the most. 1. Build your internal marketing campaign around a big prize.
It’s important to have a visible prize that is truly a showstopper—
in our case, it was a giant, gleaming silver trophy that we could
center our marketing campaign around. Our campaign included
digital signage, videos of executives encouraging learning on
their teams, and a video of the cup around our California campus
that went viral.

2. Executive championship effectively drove engagement.

Guess what inspired employees to spend more time learning?
Executives recommending specific online courses. For example,
our CEO Jeff Weiner recommended leadership courses—
including one of his own.

3. Use data to encourage a friendly competition.

During the competition, everyone wanted to know how their team
was performing and whether they were inching closer to the top
spot on the leaderboard. This led to teams at all levels having higher
overall engagement.

2020 Workplace Learning Report | L&D budget & buy-in 10

The LinkedIn Learning Challenge: By the Numbers
(Compared to 2018 LinkedIn Learning Challenge Week)

In 2019, we doubled each employee’s learning goal—from 15 minutes to

30 minutes—and blew last year’s numbers out of the water. Our Global
Talent Organization took home the victory this year with an incredible
76% engagement across the department. We also saw most of our
44% more engaged learners

departments’ engagement increase, with the top three all achieving

over 50% engagement—a new record.

53% more hours viewed

50% more courses viewed

365% Content created internally by LinkedIn

2020 Workplace Learning Report | L&D budget & buy-in 11

L&D POV:
KEVIN DELANEY
VP of Learning & Development
LinkedIn

12
“ When it comes to activating executives, I approach
them the same way I approach anyone else. I regularly
ask them what they are learning and share with them
what I’m learning. By bringing this into our everyday
conversations, it generates even more sharing, which
has a multiplying effect. That energy is what inspires
people to learn and helps create a culture of continu-
ous learning.”

“ We know that activating executives is a proven and

powerful way to drive higher learner engagement.
For example, in the LinkedIn Learning Challenge, the
courses taught or recommended by our executives
were the most watched in the library, hands down.”

KEVIN DELANEY
VP of Learning & Development
LinkedIn

2020 Workplace Learning Report | L&D budget & buy-in 13

Industry standards for
measuring impact
and engagement
have yet to emerge

2020 Workplace Learning Report 14

Measuring the impact of learning
is the top focus area for L&D in 2020

When we asked L&D professionals globally what their most import- means that talent developers have a lot of priorities that are both
ant area of strategic focus was for 2020, evaluating the effectiveness urgent and important.
of learning programs topped the list. This is an interesting shift, given
that the top strategic focus area of 2019 was to identify and assess Strategic areas of focus differ slightly based on region and country—
skills gaps (which fell to the fourth spot this year.) Given that the top from increasing engagement in the United States to enabling self-directed
six focus areas had a distribution of only 10 percentage points, it learning in Germany, India, and Australia.

Top strategic areas of focus globally: Top strategic areas of focus in different countries:
% of L&D pros who identified their top 3 strategic priorities
Canada: Evaluating
40% the impact of learning UK: Identifying, tracking,
and closing skills gaps

20%

US: Increasing
learner engagement
0%

38% Evaluating the impact of learning Germany, India, and Australia:

35% Increasing learner engagement Enabling self-directed learning
35% Enabling self-directed learning with online learning solutions with online learning solutions
32% Tracking skills gaps and development
32% Activating managers to encourage employees to make time for learning
29% Integrating learning into other talent programs 2020 Workplace Learning Report | Measuring impact and engagement 15
The myriad ways to measure
the impact of learning

While the top strategic focus area for L&D this year is to Ways that L&D pros measure
measure the impact of learning, the survey data indicates that the impact of online learning
there isn’t an industry standard. Talent developers rely on both
quantitative data from online learning solutions and qualita-
tive feedback from learners to prove the value of learning. 43% Qualitative feedback
from employees

Takeaway
When it comes to metrics, explore the possibilities 38% Number of online
courses completed
Course completions are the most common way of measuring
an engaged learner. Explore a variety of ways to measure
engagement, such as repeat visits, frequency of visits, or time 35% Number of employees
who consistently learn online
spent learning.

34% Employee
satisfaction

94% of employees say they 31% Qualitative feedback about

behavioral change
would stay at a company longer
if it invested in their learning
and development.

(Source: LinkedIn Learning 2019 Workplace Learning Report)

2020 Workplace Learning Report | Measuring impact and engagement 16

A standard learner engagement
measure has yet to emerge

Driving higher learner engagement is a consistent challenge

for all talent developers, but—as with measuring impact— Global percentage of L&D
the industry has yet to converge on a true north metric for pros who don’t measure
engagement. Surprisingly, nearly a quarter of L&D pros 24% learner engagement based
globally don’t measure learner engagement. This underscores on online usage data
what we already know: measuring learner engagement is
a hard nut to crack.

How L&D currently defines an engaged learner, in rank order LinkedIn Learning Course

People Analytics
1. Course completions
Josh Bersin explains people analytics, a powerful tool
for tackling talent challenges.

2. Learner satisfaction surveys

3. Minutes learning per month

4. Repeat visits (2x) per month

Watch course >

2020 Workplace Learning Report | Measuring impact and engagement 17

3 conversation starters about
how to define an engaged learner

Because the industry has yet to converge on a true north engagement

metric, here are 3 questions to get you thinking about what measure
would work best for your organization.

1. Are course completions 2. What should we think 3. Why aren’t repeat visits
the right engagement about learning minutes a more popular way to
metric? per month? measure engagement—
and should they be?
Course completions topped the list as the The answer is that “it depends.”
most popular quantitative way that talent What really matters here is the learner’s Repeat visits came in at the bottom of the
developers measure engagement, but that objective. If they want to learn an entirely list as an engagement metric this year,
fails to account for the fact that effective new skill set, such as learning to code in but it may be time for that to change.
learning can happen in small bites. If an Python, then the time spent metric really Repeat visitors is a strong metric for online
employee learns how to create a pivot table does matter. Conversely, if the learner is just marketers to measure brand affinity. When
in Excel in 10 minutes—without completing trying to take a few “refresher” courses, such a consumer consistently visits a website,
the full course—then it’s still engagement, as public speaking tips in the week leading that means they’ve found value in the first-
right? That employee would rate that up to a big presentation, then their total time experience and every one after that.
learning experience highly as it gave minutes learned should look quite different. In marketing, it’s called a “sticky experience.”
her what she needed without having to At the end of the day, it all comes back to L&D can replicate this, using repeat visits
spend 30 minutes to complete the course. the learner’s objectives—and how they can and a “sticky learning experience” as a
Another way to look at it is measuring apply those learnings to get better at their valuable metric to gauge engagement and
video completions instead. current job or grow their careers. the learning habit.

2020 Workplace Learning Report | Measuring impact and engagement 18

L&D POV:

LOU TEDRICK
VP of Global Learning & Development
Verizon

19
“ We have a disciplined way of measuring the impact of learning
at Verizon. We do the work on the front-end, work with the business
to really understand the business problem we’re trying to solve or the
behavior change that we want to see. Once our goals are clearly
defined, then it makes it easier to determine the effect of learning
programs after they’re implemented.”

“ The key is having strong relationships with business partners who

are open to sharing performance data and with finance who can
help us monetize the value of KPIs. By looking at both, we can mea-
sure the impact of learning on the business and the financial ROI.”

“ In terms of measuring learner engagement, we track learner

NPS scores—or how likely they are to recommend a course to a
co-worker—and how employees interact with online courses. But we
go beyond that when we’re getting ready to launch new products
or services. We consider learning complete when employees finish
a course, take an assessment, and then demonstrate their new
knowledge in a product or service demo to their managers.”

LOU TEDRICK
VP of Global Learning & Development
Verizon

2020 Workplace Learning Report | Measuring impact and engagement 20

Tap managers to
drive engagement
and create a culture
of learning

2020 Workplace Learning Report 21

L&D’s 3 biggest challenges this year

When we asked L&D pros globally about their We asked talent developers globally what their top three challenges
three biggest challenges, getting managers to are this year and here’s what they said:
make learning a priority for their teams topped
the list, above creating a culture of learning
and driving engagement. Although, if you take Getting managers to make Understanding what skills to
a step back, the top three challenges are inex- 49% learning a priority for their teams 22% build or courses to recommend
tricably linked. Talent developers know that the
key to driving higher learner engagement and
creating a culture of learning is transforming
Creating a culture Making sure that learners know
managers into learning champions.
42% of learning 22% where to find learning resources

Increasing employee Demonstrating the

36% engagement in learning 21% value of learning

Teaching their employees to use Identifying

31% technology more effectively 21% skills gaps

Scaling learning across Getting executive

26% the organization 17% buy-in

2020 Workplace Learning Report | Create a culture of learning 22

Integrating learning into the rhythm of the business
is the most effective way to activate managers

Given that transforming managers into learning champions is the #1 challenge are integrated into performance reviews and onboarding programs.
that talent developers face, let’s dive into which engagement tactics work well
and where there are pockets of opportunity. We asked L&D pros how they Surprisingly, only 11% of managers find out about learning resources
promote learning programs to managers and then asked managers how they during new manager training. Consider a blended approach to educate
find out about learning programs. Aside from the tried-and-true approach of them about learning programs and help create a learning mindset at the
sending emails, managers find out about learning opportunities when they onset of their journey as a people manager.

How L&D pros promote learning programs to activate managers How managers find out about learning programs

43% Integrating learning into onboarding 32% Email promotions

42% Market the flexibility of online learning programs 31% When learning is integrated into performance reviews

38% Integrating learning into performance reviews 25% When learning is integrated into onboarding

31% Email promotions 25% Word of mouth

31% Corporate initiatives/executive mandates 24% When my manager informs me of learning resources

24% Lunch and learns 24% When my executives recommend learning resources

22% Learning groups for managers (virtual chat channels or meetings) 20% Lunch and learns

13% Team learning competitions 17% Learning groups for managers

7% Employee Voice Survey (EVS) scores 11% New manager training

15% We don’t have a great way to get managers involved in learning resources 8% Learning competitions

2020 Workplace Learning Report | Create a culture of learning 23

Marketing tactics that break through
vs. those that fall flat

Driving engagement is a perennial challenge for talent developers and, make that small amount of time as effective and efficient as possible? We
according to LinkedIn Learning survey data, it was the #1 trend that will asked learners. As it turns out, employee intranets are far and away the best
impact learning programs in 2020. However, talent developers only spend way for employees to explore learning programs, followed closely by email.
15% of their time raising awareness about the learning offerings that are Chat programs, such as Microsoft Teams and Slack, are working better than
available to employees across their organizations. So how can L&D pros expected, while lunch and learns and physical signage are less effective.

How L&D pros promote learning programs in their organizations How learners find out about learning programs

56% Employee intranet 56% Employee intranet

55% Managers or executives 47% Email campaigns

53% Email campaigns 44% Managers or executives

48% Existing talent initiatives 39% Existing talent initiatives

35% Lunch and learns 34% Word-of-mouth

31% Physical posters or signage 25% Chat programs

29% Promoting employee success stories 24% Lunch and learns

25% Competitions or challenges 15% Physical posters or signage

20% Working with marketing to create/execute programs

19% Chat programs

The percentage of learners in Germany
16% Seasonal learning campaigns 70% who find out about learning programs on
their employee intranet

2020 Workplace Learning Report | Create a culture of learning 24

Tapping into a growth mindset
is one key to manager activation

We wanted to understand what makes managers and their teams

tick and to pinpoint their motivations. The good news is that we found
that both managers and employees are inspired to learn for the same According to LinkedIn Learning data,
reason—career growth. One tip: encourage managers to recommend managers spend 30% more time learning soft
specific learning opportunities and courses. Over half of learners said skills than the average learner.
that they would spend more time learning if they did.

Tie learning to career growth to drive engagement

with both managers and learners.
LinkedIn Learning Course

Tactics for Learner Engagement

Learning leaders Naphtali Bryant and Jason Mulero
Why do managers
show you how to inspire “boom” moments for your learners.
recommend learning
to their teams? 54%
54% Grow their career
32% Get better in current role
6% Learn a new skill Percent of employees
3% Solve a problem who would spend more
5% Other time learning if they had
specific course recommen-
dations to help them reach
their career goals.

Watch course >

2020 Workplace Learning Report | Create a culture of learning 25

Employees want highly relevant
learning experiences

Unsurprisingly, the top factor that prevents employees from learning is The majority of professionals want learning
that they don’t have time to learn at work, but nearly all learners do see experiences that are...
the career benefits of carving out time to learn. It’s also important to note
that most learning happens during the week, according to LinkedIn Social and collaborative Personalized
Learning platform data. Learners of all generations feel motivated Over three-quarters of each generation
Given that time is of the essence, learners are craving a highly to learn in a social environment — with of learners value receiving personalized
their colleagues — while taking a course. course recommendations based on their
personalized learning experience that serves up the right learning at the
career goals and skills gaps.
right time, without having to dig for it. Learners across all generations
also want to learn with their colleagues to exchange ideas, share insights, 80% 79% 78% 77%
and ask questions.
67%
50% 55%
45%

49% 94%
Gen Z Millennial Gen X Boomer Gen Z Millennial Gen X Boomer

Percentage of learners Percentage of learners

who said that they don’t who said that they see the
have time to learn at work career benefits of making
According to LinkedIn Learning data,
the time to learn 83% of online learning
happens during the work week.

2020 Workplace Learning Report | Create a culture of learning 26

How Kellogg’s is transforming
their culture of learning

Kellogg’s Senior Director of Learning &

Development, Thor Flosason, has a vi- “We are well on our way to creating a culture of
sion to create a truly aspirational learn- learning. Increasingly, Kellogg employees aren’t
ing culture for Kellogg’s employees. waiting for in-person training. They are using
LinkedIn Learning to upskill themselves and
When Thor took over global learning, immediately improve themselves and the business.”
he inherited a very traditional ap- THOR FLOSASON
proach to learning. He described it as Senior Director, Global Learning
“classroom heavy, resource heavy, and & Development, Kellogg’s
events-driven.” It was not delivered
when it was needed. Watch how Kellogg’s is transforming its learning culture > Read Kellogg’s story >

Thor needed to evolve Kellogg’s learn-

ing culture from one-size-fits-all to
one-size-fits-one. He used a multi-prong “We have a great learning
approach to shift their learning culture. culture at Kellogg’s. Everyone has the
Key tactics included getting leaders opportunity to develop their skills.”
to advocate for learning, creating an
DAVID CASTILLIO
internal marketing campaign called HR Manager,
#IGotThis, and kicking off a friendly Sales Talent Management, Kellogg’s
competition that included prizes and
recognition.
Watch how David ramped into his new role using LinkedIn Learning >
His plan worked. Kellogg’s employees
watched an astounding 485,00 Linke-
dIn Learning videos and spent 24,675
hours learning on the platform.
2020 Workplace Learning Report | Create a culture of learning 27
L&D POV:
PAMAY BASSEY
Chief Learning Officer,
Kraft Heinz Company

28
“ I think that L&D’s value proposition includes a 3-part expectation
from all employees: First, seek out high impact learning experiences.
Second, commit to a learning practice. And, the third, encourage
others to do the same. If managers and leaders commit to those
three things every day, then they serve as a model for their teams
and the entire organization. Those three things can transform a
learning culture.”

“ That commitment piece is really the most important. It’s a commit-

ment to explore different learning experiences and find something
interesting every day—whether it’s a podcast, an article, or a course
on LinkedIn Learning. Sometimes it’s hard to make the time.
I personally made a commitment to do 365 days of learning and
I encourage others to make a commitment for a week, a month,
or a year. It’s important for me—and for managers and leaders—
to model learning from the top down.”

“ We are also scaling an initiative this year called ‘manager excellence’

for new managers. It is designed to help them through the transition
from an individual contributor to a people manager. We also remind
new managers that they are responsible for developing their teams
and giving them the tools to do it, in addition to delivering the results
that are expected of them.”

PAMAY BASSEY
Chief Learning Officer
Kraft Heinz Company

2020 Workplace Learning Report | Create a culture of learning 29

Digital transformation
is catalyzing an
upskilling and
reskilling revolution

2020 Workplace Learning Report 30

The era of upskilling
and reskilling has arrived

L&D pros are taking the long view when it comes to helping their As the pace of technology advancement accelerates,
workforce develop new skills. All talent developers want to help
the era of upskilling and reskilling is upon us
strengthen the skills that employees already have, but the rapid
pace of business and technology changes is putting upskilling and
reskilling front and center. Surprisingly, nearly half of them plan on
reskilling a portion of their workforce this year indicating the L&D
of L&D pros plan to launch upskilling
pros are strategically looking ahead to prepare their organizations
for what’s ahead. To that point, the #1 piece of information that L&D
51% programs in 2020

pros want to help them identify skills gaps is data on what skills will
be most in-demand in the next 3-5 years.

What’s the difference between upskilling and reskilling?

of L&D pros plan to launch reskilling

Upskilling
learning new skills within the same job function
43% programs in 2020

Reskilling
learning new skills for a different job function

2020 Workplace Learning Report | Upskilling and reskilling 31

In the age of robots,
soft skills will reign supreme

This year, talent developers are laser focused on building soft skills— Percentage of L&D pros who are focused on developing these skills
interpersonal skills that are foundational to every employee’s success,
regardless of their functional role or how the technology landscape Highest priority skills
evolves. This is a smart investment, given that the shelf life of technical
skills is relatively short—less than 5 years—while strong leadership,
creative, and communication skills are always in demand.

57% 42% 40%

What is digital transformation?
The use of digital technologies to create Creative problem Communication
Leadership
new—or change existing—business and management solving and design
processes, culture, and customer experiences thinking
to take advantage of changing business
and market requirements. Lowest priority skills

9% 8% 8%

Mobile computing Engineering Cloud

and development and coding computing

2020 Workplace Learning Report | Upskilling and reskilling 32

 Concerns about an economic downturn and the impact
of automation on learning programs vary across the globe

Despite fears of robots eliminating jobs and a looming economic downturn, The good news is that technology advancements have always created
L&D professionals globally are not as worried about these macroeconomic more jobs than they destroy. The same is true today. According to the
trends this year as you might think. With only a relatively small percentage World Economic Forum, AI and robotics will create almost 60 million
(15%) of talent developers believe that the economy will impact learning more jobs than they will eliminate by 2022. Nearly a quarter of talent
programs this year.* That is largely true across the globe except for the developers believe that automation will impact their programs in 2020,
UK. Over half of L&D pros in the UK are concerned about how Brexit will but that number spikes to over one-third in the Asia-Pacific region, where
impact their learning programs. more manufacturing jobs are at risk of being automated out.

of L&D pros believe that a of L&D pros believe

potential downturn in the that automation will
15% economy will impact their 24% impact their learning
learning programs programs globally

of L&D pros in the UK believe that

Percentage of L&D pros in each region who believe that automation
upskilling and reskilling programs
79%
51% will be important this year due to the will impact their learning programs
economic impact of Brexit

79%
16% 25%
79% 35%
79%

North America EMEA APAC

* The 2020 Workplace Learning Survey was fielded prior to the emergence of the coronavirus. 2020 Workplace Learning Report | Upskilling and reskilling 33
Skills gaps create real business gaps

Virtually every talent developer we surveyed agreed: if critical skills If skills gaps aren’t closed in the next 3-5 years, L&D pros expect that it will
gaps aren’t closed in the coming years, then their organizations will negatively impact their organization in the following ways, in rank order:
be negatively impacted in a variety of ways—from future growth to
how they interact with customers. 1. Future growth

2. Customer experience and satisfaction

Only 1% of L&D pros said 3. Product or service quality and delivery
that if skills gaps aren’t closed, then there
4. Ability to innovate
would be no negative impact.

Takeaway LinkedIn Learning Courses

Upskilling your current employees is a great strategy for filling key roles.
According to LinkedIn Economic Graph data, Data Analysts typically Digital Transformation for Leaders
already have many foundational skills to become Data Scientists. This Learn what digital transformation is and how you can help your
path shows the additional skills they need to develop to take on the role. organization navigate its challenges and opportunities.

Upskilling Data
Scientist
a data analyst

PySpark
Scala
Data Artificial Intelligence
Analyst Algorithms
Scikit-Learn
Keras
Natural Language Processing
TensorFlow Watch learning path >
Deep Learning
2020 Workplace Learning Report | Upskilling and reskilling 34
What are the most
in-demand skills in 2020?

Every year, we identify the skills that companies need most to give The top soft skills are more human-centric than last year
you additional data points to inform your learning and development Soft skills are the essential interpersonal skills that make or break our
programs, help LinkedIn members pinpoint which skills will be most ability to get things done. We think of them as foundational and every
valued in the market, and guide our learning content roadmap. professional should be working to build them.
Topping this year’s list are creativity, collaboration, persuasion,
Here are the skills in rank order and how they moved compared and emotional intelligence—all skills that demonstrate how you work
to the 2019 list. with others and bring new ideas to the table. More task-oriented skills
like ‘time management’ from last year’s list are notably absent this year.
Top 5 Soft Skills Top 10 Hard Skills While such skills remain critical to being successful, this year’s results
signal that companies are gravitating more toward talent with strong
1. Creativity same 1. Blockchain new
people-oriented skills.
2. Persuasion same 2. Cloud computing -1
Analytical and data-centered hard skills continue to top the list of hard skills
3. Collaboration same 3. Analytical reasoning same
While the most in-demand soft skills are all about how employees work
4. Adaptability same 4. Artificial Intelligence -1 together, the most in-demand hard skills are the ones defining what
they’re working on.
5. Emotional intelligence new 5. UX design same
These skills will continue to evolve as the world of work does and
6. Business analysis +10 will vary based on industry and country. For example, for the first time
this year, blockchain not only made the list of skills we look for, but topped it
7. Affiliate marketing new
—highlighting a rapid spike in demand for 2020.
8. Sales same Trending data also reveals that data-driven decision making
skills like analytical reasoning (#3), up one spot from last year, and
9. Scientific computing +3
business analysis (#6), up 10 spots from last year, are essential in today’s
10. Video production -3 workforce. As companies continue to collect and analyze more data than
ever before, they need people who can help interpret and take action on
that data to drive growth.

2020 Workplace Learning Report | Upskilling and reskilling 35

Each generation in the workplace
wants to build different skills

We all intuitively understand that the skills we want to acquire at the beginning of our careers are much
different than the ones we want to build 20 years later. Still, the generational spread of interest in particular
skills was wider than we expected. Gen Z is most interested in building their creativity and tech skills more
than any other generation. Millennials and Gen Xers are focused on developing their management and
leadership skills, as many are becoming new managers or executives. And, everyone wants to build their
leadership and management skills.

Employees of all generations want to learn, but their interests vary

according to learner survey results

Gen Z Millennials Gen X Boomers

Management
and leadership 49% 59% 60% 44%
New software
related to your role 51% 38% 32% 36%
Engineering/
coding 48% 35% 25% 18%

Creativity 35% 24% 24% 18%

2020 Workplace Learning Report | Upskilling and reskilling 36

AI tops the list of technologies expected
to significantly impact learning

Just as automation technologies are rapidly changing the skills Talent developers believe that learning platforms will only get smarter in
landscape, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning are expected the future and deliver a more personalized, curated learning experience
to be the next big technologies to impact learning. While only 24% of L&D by leveraging AI and machine learning. Learning leaders in the Asia-
professionals believe that AI will impact learning programs this year, their Pacific region are especially bullish on AI.
perspective is very different when they look ahead to the next 5 years.

The technologies that L&D pros think will significantly impact online Percentage of L&D pros who expect AI and machine learning to drive
learning in the next 5 years more accurate personalization of recommended learning content

41% AI/machine learning to drive more accurate personalization

39% Virtual/augmented reality

36% Social learning 79%

37% 40%
79% 50%
79%
34% Better company data on learner habits and preferences

33% Gamification

30% Lives streaming/live video North America Europe Asia Pacific

26% Learning embedded within business applications (Microsoft Office, etc.)

24% Better industry data on essential skills

11% Chatbots

2020 Workplace Learning Report | Upskilling and reskilling 37

3 reasons to get excited about AI

As AI technologies continue to become more sophisticated—and deliver even more relevant and timely content
recommendations—both learners and L&D pros will reap the benefits. LinkedIn Learning delivers highly relevant
learning recommendations based by leveraging LinkedIn data from 675 million members, more than 50 million
companies, and 20 million job postings. Here are three reasons why AI matters.

1. Learners will likely spend 2. L&D will spend less time 3. With more time on their hands,
more time learning curating content L&D can focus on driving engagement

of learners said of talent developers of talent developers’

that they would use spend nearly half of time is spent promoting

79% 45% 16%

personalized course their time creating learning programs,
recommendations and delivering even though driving
based on their career learning content and engagement is their
goals and skills gaps. compliance training top priority.
for their organizations.

When the right learning content is delivered Curating and building content is a necessary Even if personalized recommendations driven
to learners in the right way and at the right part of the job, but it can often cause L&D pros by AI and machine learning free up 10% of
moment, they will likely spend more time to spend too much time in the tactical weeds. their week, L&D pros can spend more time
learning and less time searching (or not As AI technologies mature and take on the on strategic initiatives including promoting
learning at all). lion’s share of content curation, it will also learning programs to help drive higher learner
decrease the amount of time that L&D profes- engagement.
sionals spend curating and building content.

2020 Workplace Learning Report | Upskilling and reskilling 38

MGM is providing upskilling opportunities
to 82,000 employees

Because there’s so much competition

for top talent in Las Vegas, MGM
“When you work in an environment
decided that they needed to invest in
like Las Vegas, people have opportunities
every member of their workforce—
to choose different employers,
from corporate managers to front-line
employees such as the housekeeping but they stay because you invest in them.”
staff, dealers on the gambling floors, LISA ZWEBER-SMITH
and the servers at hotel restaurants. VP of Diversity and Inclusion, MGM Resorts International

By building their LEAD (Learning

Experiences Accelerate Develop- Watch how MGM Resorts is upskilling its workforce > Read MGM’s story >
ment) program around LinkedIn
Learning, they guaranteed that
everyone in the organization,
regardless of location, could access “I believe that LinkedIn Learning
learning opportunities. With a library Turning Big has had a significant impact
of 15,500+ professionally-produced on my promotion. Without it, I would
courses, the MGM team was certain Dreams into not be where I am today.”
that there was something useful for Realities QUAY EADY
every employee.
Table Games Analytics, MGM Resorts International

Although the program is relatively

new, LEAD graduates are Watch how Quay strengthened her power of persuasion
already growing their careers and on LinkedIn Learning to grow her career >
rising up the ranks.

2020 Workplace Learning Report | Upskilling and reskilling 39

L&D POV:
SIMON BROWN
Chief Learning Officer
Novartis

40
“ L&D’s upskilling and reskilling programs should always be tied
to key business priorities. We have two: 1) attracting and retain-
ing the best talent and 2) building the capabilities needed to sup-
port the strategy. To help us do that effectively, we have started
to embed learning leads into our strategy teams so that we can
identify the skills we’ll need several years out and create a plan
on how to close them.”

“ Building our digital capabilities is a top priority. To help us do

that, we segmented our learning programs to serve three audi-
ences. First, we work with our leaders, using a ‘digital immersion’,
to help them create a digital culture on their teams; shifting
from a project to ‘product’ strategy. Second, we work with digi-
tal practitioners who are actively involved in projects that need
deep digital skills such as data science, artificial intelligence,
and Product Owner capability. Our third audience is all 108,000
associates, who are learning the digital foundations—what they
are and why they are important. Once they are aware of their
role in supporting our digital transformation, then we focus on
inspiring them to be curious to upskill themselves.”

SIMON BROWN
Chief Learning Officer
Novartis

2020 Workplace Learning Report | Upskilling and reskilling 41

Final thoughts
The learning & development discipline has come a long
way in the last decade—from deploying compliance train-
ing to becoming a strategic business partner. As we enter
2020, L&D pros are mastering the art of driving engage-
ment, activating managers, measuring the effectiveness
of their programs, and so much more. Simultaneously, they
are also looking ahead and calculating what skills they will
need in the face of automation and digital transformation,
while relying on AI to help them deliver relevant learning at
scale.

The stakes have never been higher. The good news is that
talent developers are ready for whatever technology and
business changes the new decade brings.

2020 Workplace Learning Report 42

Methodology
Global Survey The countries we surveyed include:

For the LinkedIn Learning 2020 Workplace Learning Report, North America Asia-Pacific Europe
we surveyed: United States India United Kingdom
Canada Singapore Ireland
Australia Germany

1,675 / L&D professionals New Zealand

Hong Kong
France
Benelux
Austria
L&D and HR professionals with L&D responsibilities who Sweden
have some influence on budget decisions at organizations Norway
with over 200 employees Finland
Denmark
Iceland

2,000 / Learners
Workplace learners who self-identified as working for an
organization that provides online learning to employees LinkedIn Learning Behavioral and Economic Graph Data
Behavioral insights for this report were generated from the billions of data
points created by more than 675+ million members in over 200 countries
on LinkedIn today.

2,932 / Managers 2020 Most In-Demand Skills Data

To create the list of the most in-demand hard and soft skills in 2020,
Employees who self-identified as people managers we surfaced data from our network of over 675+ million professionals
at companies that provided online learning solutions to and 20+ million jobs. More specifically, we looked at the skills that are in
their organizations the highest demand relative to the supply of people who have those skills
and are getting hired at the highest rates. These are global rankings,
but we only included cities with 100,000 LinkedIn members or more.

2020 Workplace Learning Report 43

Acknowledgements
We would like to extend our deepest gratitude to everyone who graciously
contributed their talents, insights, and time to the LinkedIn Learning 2020
Workplace Learning Report.

Editor-in-Chief Growth and Web LinkedIn Learning Customers

Amanda Van Nuys Emi Agg Simon Brown
Kristine Webb Chief Learning Officer, Novartis
Editorial Support Colleen Rombach Lou Tedrick
Tara Kusumoto Christine Hoang VP, Global Learning & Development, Verizon
Laurie Moot Nikhil Kanade Pamay Bassey
Paul Petrone Alyssa Retallick Chief Learning Officer, Kraft Heinz
Liz Maples Lucy Frye Lisa Zweber-Smith
Blake Buisson Karl Boehringer VP, Diversity and Inclusion, MGM Resorts International
Rajni Sharma Thor Flosason
Research and Insights Jonathan Pettingill Senior Director, Global Learning & Development,
Colleen Dye R.J. Fox Kellogg’s
Victor Too
Chelsea Cook Design LinkedIn L&D
Sophie Smith Bob Dinetz Kevin Delaney
Jacqueline Barrett Robert Tait VP, Learning & Development, LinkedIn
Andrew DeBenedictis
Most In-Demand Skills Jared Freeden Public Relations
Rachel Lefkowitz Dan Southwick Andrea Roberts
Olawale Oladunni
Product Marketing Amp Digital Agency Customer Marketing
Sascha Noll Mary Healy
Grace Chen International Marketing
Christina O’Connor Sales Enablement
Event Marketing Alexandra Huber Krystal Thomas
Karen Liubinksas Laura Schwalberg Ira Amilhussin
Lizzy Hearne Shuxian Li Carrie Tacla
Shih-Chi Chang Revan Messak
Elisabeth Wohofsky
Wendy Savin
Namrata Murlindhar

2020 Workplace Learning Report 44

About LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning is a leading online learning platform that
helps professionals learn relevant skills and achieve their goals.
It combines a library of 15,500+ up-to-date courses in 7 different
languages with an engaging, intuitive, and personalized learner
experience. LinkedIn Learning also includes real-time skills insights
that help learning leaders identify skills gaps and learner needs.
For more information, visit http://learning.linkedin.com.

Ready to explore how LinkedIn Learning

can help your team prepare for what’s ahead?

Get in touch with us to schedule a free demo

and discuss how LinkedIn Learning can help your
employees learn relevant skills, achieve their goals,
and make a greater impact.

Request a demo or contact sales at 1-844-587-5735.

2020 Workplace Learning Report 45