Learning and development has traditionally been associated with training programmes, courses and professional development.
But as organisations face rapid technological change and evolving skills requirements, L&D is becoming increasingly connected with broader workforce strategy.
Skills England's 2026 Annual Skills Report identifies skills shortages, employer investment in skills, AI adoption and young people's employability among the major challenges facing the UK skills system.
For organisations, this raises an important question: are learning teams being used to deliver training, or to help build the workforce the organisation will need in the future?
Skills Gaps Are a Business Issue
When an organisation cannot access the skills it needs, the impact extends beyond HR or L&D.
Skills shortages can affect:
- Productivity
- Innovation
- Recruitment
- Succession planning
- Business growth
- Employee workload
- Organisational resilience
Learning teams can therefore play an important role in identifying where capability gaps exist and determining whether they can be addressed internally.
Recruitment Cannot Solve Every Skills Gap
External hiring will always be necessary, but recruitment is not the only way organisations can access capability.
With UK vacancies falling and employers remaining cautious about recruitment, developing existing employees could become increasingly attractive.
This might involve reskilling employees whose roles are changing, developing future managers or providing employees with opportunities to move into areas experiencing shortages.
Greater collaboration between talent acquisition and L&D can help organisations decide whether to buy, build or redeploy skills.
L&D Needs Better Workforce Data
Effective skills development requires organisations to understand the capabilities they already have.
Skills audits, employee assessments, career conversations and workforce analytics can all help build a clearer picture.
L&D teams can then prioritise investment around genuine organisational needs rather than relying entirely on requests for individual courses.
This also allows development activity to become more closely linked with workforce planning.
Career Development Supports Retention
Learning is not only about addressing organisational skills gaps.
Development opportunities can also give employees a clearer sense of career progression.
Creating visible pathways between roles can help employees understand what skills they need to progress and what opportunities exist within the organisation.
Internal mobility can then become part of both retention and recruitment strategy.
Looking Ahead
The role of L&D is becoming increasingly strategic.
As skills requirements change more quickly, organisations cannot afford to think about workforce development only after capability gaps appear.
Learning professionals who understand future skills requirements, workforce data and organisational strategy have an opportunity to influence decisions much earlier.
The question for organisations is no longer simply what training employees need today.
It is what capabilities the business will need tomorrow – and how quickly they can be built.
References
• Skills England (2026), Skills England Annual Skills Report 2026. Updated 4 August 2026.
• CIPD (2026), Labour Market Outlook – Summer 2026. Published 16 August 2026.
• Office for National Statistics (2026), Vacancies and jobs in the UK: August 2026. Published 18 August 2026.