Developing a skills-based organisation in the light of Gen-AI

How do you develop a skills-based organisation in the age of Generative AI?

Skills serve as the currency of modern businesses; they are what drives an organisation’s ability to stay relevant in an ever-evolving digital world. In the words of Cassie Gasson, Thrive’s Co-CEO for People Management: “Companies will lose out if they don’t invest in skills or upskilling, to empower their teams to learn more.”

So in 2025, when Generative AI is advancing every day – and its futuristic cousin, Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), is supposedly not far behind – how wide is the gap between the skills our workforces need, and those they already have? How exactly do you develop a skills-based organisation in the age of Generative AI? The Udemy Business 2025 Global Learning & Skills Trends Report aims to examine just that. With the tagline “Building the Skills to Keep Pace With Change,” the report explores skills development, skills validation, creating the Gen-AI-powered workplace, and reinventing leadership skills for the modern world of work. I’ve combed through its 32 pages to bring you the highlights, and advise how those of us within L&D can apply its wisdom to our workplace learning strategy.?

Throughout AI’s roughly three-year tenure in the general public’s consciousness, it’s sparked plenty of necessary debates about intellectual property, ethics, and how to use the technology responsibly. These conversations seem to return to the same theme every time: Human intervention is crucial. It’s obvious really; the sweet spot between Artificial and Human Intelligence lies in their overlap – in the careful balancing act of humans and AI working together.?

In this edition of Thrive Insight, we’re going to explore this theme in further depth – and examine where Udemy’s research fits into it.?

What is a skills gap, and why is it a major concern for organisations?

Put simply, a skills gap is the difference between the skills your employees currently have, and those they need to gain ?in order to excel at work. A big skills gap isn’t just a hindrance to the individual; it’s also a problem for the wider organisation. Without the ability to evolve their workforce’s skills at pace with the world around them, organisations can’t adapt to changes in technology, the economy, or work itself.?

Udemy’s report notes that this problem is ever-pervasive, highlighting the fact that although a substantial majority of business leaders view the skills gap as a major risk, many employers report difficulty in finding candidates with the required skills. From the report:

“This challenge overlays some problems that have been around for years, but persist despite our best efforts. Organizations are still working to increase workplace diversity and invest in social responsibility, and declining employee well-being and mental health continue to take a toll.”

“Amplifying and compounding all of these hurdles is the accelerating pace of change brought on by rapid technological evolution. Technology is driving many of the disruptive changes that employees and organizations are experiencing and also making it possible to take a new, agile approach to change.”

2. What is a skills-based organisation (SBO), and why should companies aim to become one?

A skills-based organisation (or SBO) is one that uses skills as the foundation of its talent management processes – as opposed to a roles-based organisation, which relies on predefined job roles and titles as the basis for managing talent.?

So, why should companies aim to become the former example, and not the latter? Hiring based on skills, instead of roles, quite simply allows you to be more agile – and create an agile workforce as a result. In turn, you can adapt quickly to ever-shifting market changes, boost productivity, and give your workforce the career progression they deserve.?

3. How do skills development and skills validation contribute to the success of a skills-based organisation?

Skills-based hiring is just the first step in the process. According to Udemy, skills development and skills validation are also crucial when it comes to evolving with the times. Skills validation is the process of confirming that an employee does indeed have the skills they claim to have (for example, through badges, assessments, or certifications.) Skills development is, obviously, the process of developing their skills in those areas even further.?

“Two key capabilities are crucial to successfully navigating this change: skills development and skills validation. These are not just nice-to-haves; they’re essential for leading and shaping the future of work. Organizations that can quickly develop and validate skills are able to build a workforce that can apply those skills flexibly across different contexts as the need arises, adapting to change and boosting performance.”

4. How is GenAI (Generative AI) transforming the workplace, and what are the key challenges and opportunities it presents?

Now onto the star of the show: Generative AI, or GenAI as it’s colloquially known. I don’t have to tell you twice that GenAI is rapidly changing the world – and by extension, the workplace. There are so many applications for this technology it would take the entire running time of The Brutalist, and then some, to list them all. From automating mundane tasks to (somewhat controversially) more creative tasks like assisting with written content, AI has its foothold in every single industry.?

Like I alluded to at the start of this piece, GenAI is seemingly evolving faster than our ability to keep up with it. How do you mitigate these challenges within your skills strategy, and even turn them into opportunities? Here are a few key areas I’ve identified:

Upskilling: As is the through-line of this piece, upskilling remains the most valuable aspect of your strategy. By continually upskilling your workforce, you ensure that your organisation and everyone within it stays agile and relevant as the world evolves.?

Ensuring ethical use: This is an issue that’s been explored in detail – including on our own Thrive Blog – but to reiterate, human intervention is crucial when it comes to ensuring ethical use of AI. During 2023’s Thrive Live Conference, our customers enjoyed a talk from Dr. Pippa Malgren. In her words: “Will AI hurt us? Only if we let it.”

Automating repetitive tasks: This is arguably the most appealing opportunity when it comes to making the case for AI. AI can manage an overwhelming inbox; help your employees answer questions about workplace processes; even serve as your own personal assistant. All of this frees up more money and time to do the important – or creative – work that mundane tasks pull you away from.?

Generating insights from data: Any L&D pro knows that data is your best friend when it comes to telling a compelling story about your learning strategy. AI can do the work of gathering the data for you, so you can use it to make informed decisions.?

Enhancing personalisation: AI automates analytics and allows you to personalise learning to each individual’s needs and preferences, without having to go the long way around.?

5. What specific skills do employees need to effectively utilise GenAI in the workplace?

Upskilling employees to use GenAI in the workplace is not an exact science, but here’s a formula that gets pretty close:

Employees need both foundational and role-specific GenAI skills. What does this look like? Some examples of foundational skills are understanding GenAI technology, prompt engineering, and the ethical considerations we mentioned earlier; while role-specific skills might include things like how to apply the technology to communication, sales outreach, and content creation.?

The key here is to provide continuous, up-to-date learning paths that adapt to the rapidly changing nature of GenAI technologies.

6. How is GenAI revolutionising the way organisations approach learning and development?

GenAI is revolutionising the world of Learning & Development in so many ways, chiefly the personalisation I mentioned earlier. Personalised learning experiences enabled by AI allow for adaptive learning, a method that is hugely beneficial to knowledge retention.?

After all, each individual learner is different, with learning needs as unique and singular as a fingerprint. L&D should build experiences around them, not the other way around. Studies have shown that AI tools significantly improved student engagement and learning outcomes – and the same is true for workplace learning.?

This shift towards AI-powered personalisation will continue to revolutionise the way organisations approach Learning & Development. Through tailored learning paths, dynamic learning exercises, and opportunities for learners to apply skills in practical contexts (see: immersive learning) we’ll start to usher in an entirely new era of training.

GenAI can also tap into that all-important currency, skills, to analyse both where your workforce is strongest and where they might be lacking. In turn, you can target training where it’s needed the most.

7. What are the key leadership challenges in the modern workplace, and how can leaders address them effectively?

Another theme explored in Udemy’s report was leadership. Leadership development is never far from L&D teams’ minds. How do you make a leader; can they be made – or are some people just born with an innate ability to lead? At Thrive, it’s our opinion that instead of jumping straight to leadership training, organisations should first identify the values and behaviours that they want to encourage within their organisation – and how they plan to measure them. Next, make sure that everything feeds into the wider organisational goals.?

Where does GenAI come into all this? According to the Udemy report: “GenAI skills are leadership skills.”

“Leaders need a deep understanding of GenAI to know how to guide their organizations to next-level business models. Most leaders have a long way to go; an Accenture survey found that 65% of executives admit they lack the expertise required for GenAI-led transformation. This means leaders must acquire the skills to integrate GenAI into their regular flow of work while also developing and maintaining their knowledge of how GenAI is evolving as a technology, how it is changing their industry, and how it is likely to do so in the future.”

8. What steps can organisations take to implement a skills-based approach and drive better business performance?

Now to put all this into action.?

Udemy’s advice is to start by understanding your organisation’s current skills gaps, and use that knowledge to define the skills you’ll need in the future. Organisations should provide employees with access to the latest technologies such as GenAI, and equip them with the skills to use them effectively. Crucially, leaders must be actively involved in these transformations.

“Organizations that clarify the skills gaps they have, the skills they need to develop, and how they can validate those skills, have an opportunity to get ahead of change. When employees can develop the skills they need with agility, they will position themselves and their organizations to adapt successfully to whatever the future brings.”

To wrap it up

The balance of human and artificial intelligence is the future of our working world. By embracing this fact instead of resisting it, organisations can use GenAI to stay ahead of the curve. What do you think? Add your thoughts in the comments.