Future-proof your workforce by 2030

If the world’s workforce were made up of 100 people, 59 would need new skills by 2030.

The Future of Jobs Report 2025 from the World Economic Forum found that skills gaps will be the most significant barrier to business transformation in the next five years.

Employers cited the fast-growing demand for skills in artificial intelligence and big data, networks and cybersecurity, and technological literacy, along with an ongoing need for core skills in analytical thinking, resilience, flexibility, and agility. 

Continual upskilling

With nearly 90 percent of organizations running two or more transformation programs simultaneously , these skills gaps are all the more significant because job requirements are evolving rapidly, and learning and development departments are struggling to keep up.

That’s why progressive companies are looking to learning as a service (LaaS). In this managed service, companies subscribe to a digital platform that makes continual upskilling and reskilling a part of workers’ daily experience. The platform is usually integrated with an organization’s ecosystem of learning technologies and can flex to meet ongoing changes in skills requirements.

Advanced tech + strategic collaboration

Leading LaaS providers offer training content, learning administration, experience design, supplier and event management, employee communications, reporting, analytics, and more — all packaged in a multi-year, as-a-service subscription with predictable costs.

The solution typically includes key components:

• Delivery. The tech stack should allow for different ways of accessing content while expediting the speed to new capability by delivering training in the flow of work, not as an interruption. This layer may also include a service desk and communications to engage employees in the offerings.
• Coordination and forecasting. The managed services team orchestrates suppliers and content to ensure the learning meets shifting requirements, from emerging technologies to new processes. The best teams also use data analytics to forecast trends, quickly identify gaps related to job descriptions and everyday tasks, and make training suggestions.
• Digital backbone. The service should also include data governance, security and privacy, and overall platform management.

In an era of constant change, few companies can organically create or acquire the capabilities, tech, and talent they urgently need for transformation. LaaS can be an important page in the playbook, allowing for continual upskilling and reskilling, improved job performance, reduced training costs, and a more resilient, adaptive workforce.

Learn more about KPMG Managed Services.

Footnotes:

1. KPMG 2024 Global Transformation Survey