Why Skills Are the Currency of the Future Workforce

Skills are emerging as a core driver of growth as organisations build capability and support teams ready for fastmoving work.

In brief

• Skills are rising in importance as organisations build capability for fastmoving work and support teams ready for emerging demands. 
• Accessible learning, skills data, internal mobility, and  aligned planning contribute to resilient workforces ready for market change.

In EY’s CHRO 2030 survey, a staggering proportion of HR Leaders (63%) identified skills as the number one barrier to transformation, with 85% of those leaders confirming workforce upskilling as their top priority between now and 2030. Skills are emerging as the most valuable resource for organisations looking to transform and grow. The world of work is changing, and the ability to build and apply new capabilities is quickly becoming central to growth. 

The question organisations need to answer now is: how do we move quickly and with purpose? 

The pace of change is relentless. Generative AI adoption has surged to 75%, up from 22% in 2023, according to EY’s 2025 Work Reimagined survey. The transition to a green economy is accelerating at the same time. The forces that are reshaping work are creating demands for skills that simply did not exist five years ago.  

What Leading Organisations Are Doing 

High performing organisations are moving toward skills-based models with teams structured around capabilities. This not only creates flexibility and diversity of thought but makes internal mobility a reality. People and skills move more easily across the organisation, which is critical for both AI and sustainable transitions. 

Organisations that manage upskilling and reskilling well tackle it across three levels: 

1. At leadership level, to ensure executives have the relevant skills to navigate and manage business performance and risk, deliver the Corporate Strategy and embed a high performing culture for today’s challenges. Increased capability focus has been seen across digital and AI, cyber, sustainability and the green agenda, risk, governance and people management. 
2. At organisation-wide level, to ensure staff have a standardised level of capability across core skillsets. This needs to be informed by the organisation’s capability profile and supported by a curriculum of structured and self-directed learning. For example, Microsoft 365 Co-Pilot to build practical skills in AI adoption.  
3. At team level to increase maturity of essential capabilities across business units and departments. For example, building skills across the HR team in the use of virtual reality for training and onboarding, supporting Finance teams to apply AI to finance processes to improve accuracy and efficiency, and building capability across hiring managers to use technology for selection and recruitment to accelerate processes, particularly across in-demand workforces such as health, transport and infrastructure. 

Examples are emerging across sectors. One utility provider is using immersive technology to accelerate skills development for engineers. A Digital Twin replicates real-world scenarios, from power plant operations to grid management. Virtual reality drills prepare teams for emergency response. These tools create learning environments that feel real and build confidence. 

Another example is a national organisation’s challenge of recruiting at scale. Working with EY, they designed and implemented a new recruitment model supported by digital systems. Fourteen recruitment teams now fill more than 20,000 roles each year. Over 100 recruiters were trained to work in this new way. The results speak for themselves with significant workforce growth between 2019 and 2024. 

Leadership as the Catalyst 

Leadership is the critical factor. Innovative teams succeed under leaders who model the behaviours they expect from employees.  Characteristics of agility, curiosity, resilience, and empathy need to be demonstrated from the top down. These traits create trust and encourage experimentation and autonomy. When leaders invest in their own capabilities, they set the tone for the organisation. 

Barriers That Hold Companies Back 

Many organisations struggle to get started – the first sticking point is not having a clear plan. Without a capability profile that identifies the gap between current and future required skills, investment decisions become guesswork. Any investment in skills needs to directly link back to the goals and targets in both the Corporate and Talent Strategy. Without that linkage, there is no clear direction or purpose, and the likelihood of seeing a return on investment is greatly reduced. 

Cultural barriers play a role. Resistance to change is common, especially when employees fear new technologies or job displacement. Inclusive cultures that value diverse perspectives and psychological safety are more likely to succeed. Generational differences add complexity, making clarity in communication essential. 

Time is another constraint. LinkedIn’s 2025 Workplace Learning Report found that half of organisations say managers lack the time or resources to prioritise learning. Only 15% of employees said their manager helped them build a career plan in the past six months. This is a sharp decline from previous years. 

Finally, the complexity of AI adoption creates hesitation. EY’s Performance Reimagined research identifies four adoption profiles: Sceptics, Explorers, Scalers, and Transformers. The gap between them is widening. Sceptics save four hours per user per week and only 27% report performance gains. Transformers save 14 hours weekly and 98% report improved performance.  

Delay to AI Adoption is costly because the longer organisations wait, the harder it becomes to catch up. 

What’s next? 

Organisations can strengthen workforce resilience and competitiveness by focusing on: 

• Taking the time to plan, assess current skills against the desired skills profile, and aligning skills development initiatives to the Corporate Plan and People Strategy 
• Ensuring career-driven learning is easily accessible and part of the Talent Strategy 
• Internal mobility supported by skills data and transparent pathways 
• Leadership empowerment at every level to champion upskilling and reskilling 
• Dynamic, personalised learning delivered on demand and at the desk 

These steps build real capabilities and keep innovation moving. Skills are at the core of how work gets done, and companies that embed them into workplace activities retain competitive advantage, ensuring readiness for markets changing fast.