2023 Workplace Learning Report

Building
the agile
future
L&D puts people and skills at the
center of organizational success.
 Introduction

This moment requires

agility — and L&D
can lead the way
For individuals, agility fuels career growth and relevance. For
organizations, agility equals the ability to survive and thrive even amid
economic headwinds.

And what is agility if not constant learning? To build a resilient and

adaptable future, learning leaders are recognizing the need for new,
people-centric playbooks. They’re working across HR to build cultures in
which everyone has the tools, the career paths, and the skills to succeed.

Read on for insights and ideas to power your own path.

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 2

 Contents
Chapter 1 The state of L&D 5
Learning and development (L&D) uses new influence to
elevate people and their skills for business impact.

Chapter 2 Creating an engaged and resilient workforce 19

Career development and internal mobility make
people — and organizations — agile.

Chapter 3 Six priorities help L&D lead the way in 2023 31

Success starts with holistic thinking and honed priorities.

Conclusion L&D holds the keys to unlock agility and growth 47

Acknowledgments 49
Methodology 50

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 3

 3-minute takeaway
How can L&D leaders drive agility?

#1 #2 #3
Reach for opportunity amid the storm. Realize that agility requires building Embrace six priorities.
more relevant skills, more quickly.

The challenges of global disruption, skills Large upskilling and reskilling • Invest in cross-functional
shortages, and economic uncertainty programs take time. Nimble relationships
persist. But L&D has never been in a organizations can inspire more skill • Hone your focus
better place to help. Tackling tough building at the individual level by
• Champion diversity, equity,
problems requires new and better skills, offering opportunities for career
and inclusion
and learning is the way through. development and internal mobility.
• Improve your data literacy
• Activate people managers
• Prioritize your own learning

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 4

 Chapter 1

The state of L&D

L&D uses new influence to
elevate people and their skills
for business impact.
Last year’s report showed L&D becoming more central,
cross-functional, and strategic than ever before. This
year, learning leaders are making the most of their
voices to ensure that people strategy and business
strategy are one and the same.

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023

 Mapping learning to
business goals is the
No. 1 priority
Top four focus areas of L&D for 2023

#1 Aligning learning programs to business goals

#2 Upskilling employees

#3 Creating a culture of learning

#4 Improving employee retention

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 6

 Most orgs seek
a people-centric
future and look to
L&D for help
People-centric culture recognizes that organizational success
depends on people’s success. And this simple truth guides
the design of employee experiences, from onboard to exit,
with human needs at the center.

83%
of organizations want
81%
of L&D departments
to build a more people- are helping
centric culture

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 7

 “Forward-thinking organizations
need to create environments that
embrace and unlock the potential
of the whole employee.”
Linda Jingfang Cai
Global Head of Learning and Talent Development, LinkedIn

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 8

 Macro trends
drive opportunities
The pandemic caused shockwaves, including talent disruption,
inflation, skills shortages, and global tension. But with more
companies realizing that daunting challenges demand new
skills, L&D has never been better positioned to help.

25%
Skill sets for jobs have changed by
around 25% since 2015. By 2027,
this number is expected to double.*

89%
of L&D pros agree that proactively
building employee skills will help
navigate the evolving future of work.

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 20233 *Source: Future of Skills Data; see “Methodology” page 9
 10 skills companies
Human skills remain critically important, especially
with the ongoing prevalence of hybrid work.

need most 1. Management

2. Communication

3. Customer Service

L&D pros need to ensure their people have the

4. Leadership
skills to navigate the evolving macro environment.
That’s why LinkedIn Learning pulled together the 5. Sales
skills companies need right now based on paid job
postings as well as standout skills of professionals 6. Project Management
who received a recruiter InMail or were hired in the
past six months. 7. Research

This list can help your employees grow their careers 8. Analytical Skills
and lead your organization through this moment.
9. Marketing

10. Teamwork

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 Source: In-Demand Skills Data; see “Methodology” page 10
 Most in-demand
skills by function

Business Finance / Accounting Engineering Information Technology

1. Management 1. Management 1. JavaScript 1. Management
2. Communication 2. Analytical skills 2. Java 2. SQL
3. Customer service 3. Customer service 3. SQL 3. Microsoft Office
4. Leadership 4. Communication 4. Python programming language 4. Project management
5. Sales 5. Leadership 5. Cascading style sheets (CSS) 5. Analytical skills
6. Marketing 6. Financial analysis 6. HTML 6. Communication
7. Project management 7. Sales 7. Management 7. Customer service
8. Finance 8. Teamwork 8. Cloud computing 8. Leadership
9. Analytical skills 9. Research 9. Git 9. Cloud computing
10. Teamwork 10. Financial reporting 10. C++ 10. Python programming
language

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 Source: In-Demand Skills Data; see “Methodology” page 11
 Most in-demand
skills by function

Project & Program

Marketing Management Sales
1. Social media 1. Management 1. Customer service
2. Management 2. Leadership 2. Management
3. Digital marketing 3. Communication 3. Communication
4. Communication 4. Engineering 4. Marketing
5. Strategy 5. Analytical skills 5. Leadership
6. Marketing strategy 6. Customer service 6. Account management
7. Leadership 7. Strategy 7. Sales management
8. Project management 8. Team leadership 8. Microsoft Office
9. Advertising 9. Marketing 9. Business development
10. Customer service 10. Research 10. Business

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 Source: In-Demand Skills Data; see “Methodology” page 12
 Percentage of L&D leaders who expect to have more spending
power, 2017–2023*

2023 budget 50%

43%
48%

41%
forecast remains 40%

35%
37%

strong 30%
27%
33%

Perhaps because L&D is poised for high

impact, the 2023 budget outlook is relatively 20%

confident. While this year’s number dipped

slightly from last year’s high, it still represents
the third most optimistic view in seven years of 10%
tracking. And only 8% of L&D pros expect their
budget to decrease.
0%
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

*Note that past surveys included more granular categories of budget increases. The two most recent
LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 surveys simply asked whether L&D pros expect their budget to increase, decrease, or remain the same. 13
 C-suite influence
continues to surge
“L&D’s time in the spotlight is just beginning,” predicted the 2022 report,
and indeed, the spotlight is only growing brighter as learning pros spend
more time with their HR chief and other executives.
The percentage of L&D pros working more closely with leaders has
grown significantly year over year.

55%

50%
With chief human 50%
resources officer

With other
executive 45% 43% 44%
leadership

40%

39%
35%
2022 2023

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 14

 Executives agree
that people strategy
is central for success
of global leaders agree that the

82% HR function is more critical now

than it has ever been

“Your ability to hire, retain, train, and redeploy

people is not going to be easy going
forward. That’s why HR is so important.”

Josh Bersin
HR Global Industry Analyst

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 Source: C-Suite Data; see “Methodology” page 15
 It’s time to Organizations face a steep maturity curve in reskilling and upskilling*

accelerate the
skills journey Late stage
Late stage

Whether inside or outside of HR, many leaders

now recognize the value of large-scale upskilling Mid stage
Mid stage
5% 2%
and reskilling initiatives. But momentum is slow.
Early stage Early stage

Between 2022 and 2023, organizations

reported only a slight uptick in progress through 52% 54%

the early and mid stages, and the percentage 39% 40%
of organizations that crossed the finish line to
the late stage actually dropped.
2022 2023
To achieve true skills agility, organizations will
also want to think about lighter-weight cultural
Early stage: ideating; selling to stakeholders; assembling a team
shifts that open new paths for more people.
Mid stage: program development and activation
Late stage: post-activation measurement and assessment

*Not shown on chart: In both 2022 and 2023, 4% had not yet begun work.

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 16

 “In challenging economic times,
there is a strong argument to
invest in building critical skills.”
Simon Brown
Chief Learning Officer, Novartis

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 17

 Bright idea “Employees are excited to be rewarded for the
skills they build at work. We measure who spends
the most time learning each week, assigning
extra points to the skills we most want employees
Experiment with recognition to learn. At the end of the month, we publicize
and incentives for skill building the top five employees who spent the most
time learning, recognize them at all-company
meetings, and give them financial rewards.

“Since we started, we have seen many employees

double the amount of time they spend learning
each week. At first, we worried that employees
would spend too much time learning and not
deliver on their jobs. We have found the opposite
to be true: People who are top learners are also
top performers. And those top performers are
helping build a stronger employer brand name,
and share what they learn with other employees.”

Ariel Mendes
HR Global Learning and Development
Leader, Rock Content

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 18

 Chapter 2

Creating an
engaged and
resilient workforce
Career development and
internal mobility make people —
and organizations — agile.
So many obstacles can impede large-scale
initiatives. But individual people can make enormous
strides. Empowering employees with career
development tools and internal mobility options
engages learners and expands workforce skills.
The ultimate benefit is an organization that can act
quickly on valuable opportunities.

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023

 Across the globe,
people crave
career progress
Employees’ top motivations to learn are:

#1 Progress toward career goals

#2 Staying up to date in their fields

#3 If they had more time

Personalized learning for their

#4 interests and career goals

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 20

 “Career development is
fundamental to our employee
value proposition, and learning
is a key business metric.”
Rajnish Borah
Global Head of Organization Effectiveness & Learning,
WNS Global Services

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 21

 Retention remains a
pain point
Many organizations grappled with unprecedented employee
turnover in the pandemic’s wake. And even while some layoffs
have made headlines in recent months, talent development
professionals continue to grapple with skills shortages and turnover
risk for critical talent. It’s not surprising that attrition anxieties persist.

93% of organizations are concerned

about employee retention.

#1
“Providing learning opportunities”
is the No. 1 way organizations are working to
improve retention.

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 22

 People who aren’t
learning will leave
Three of the top five factors that people consider when
pursuing new jobs reflect their desire to stretch, grow, and
develop new skills.

Top five factors when considering a new job

#1 Compensation and benefits

#2 Flexibility to work when and where I want

#3 Challenging and impactful work

#4 Opportunities for career growth within the company

#5 Opportunities to learn and develop new skills

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 23

 Which factors are most important to you when
considering a new job opportunity?

Younger workers Opportunities for

Age 18-34

29%
35%

crave career
Age 35-49
career growth within
the company Age 50+ 16%
All ages 29%

and learning Age 18-34 31%

opportunities Opportunities to learn

and develop new skills
Age 35-49

Age 50+

All ages
29%
26%
29%

Job-seeking motivation varies across age groups.

The youngest workers (age 18 to 34) are most Age 18-34 18%
likely to value opportunities for career growth, Organizational Age 35-49 26%
support to balance
learning, and skill building. work and personal life Age 50+ 20%
All ages 22%
Those who are age 35 to 49 are more likely than
other age groups to value support for work-life
balance. And age 50+ values challenging and Age 18-34 29%

impactful work more than other groups. Challenging and Age 35-49 28%
impactful work Age 50+ 35%
All ages 30%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 24

 Promotions aren’t
the only path to
career progress
Employees deserve encouragement and recognition for any step
forward, whether learning a new skill, tackling a stretch project,
working with a coach or mentor, or growing their networks.

And simply engaging with learning correlates with a sense of

growth, advancement, and adaptability.

Compared to disengaged learners, engaged learners* are

more likely to say:

• Learning helps me grow and advance in my current role.

• Learning helps me achieve my career goals.

• Learning helps me adapt during times of change.

*Those who participate at least monthly in online or in-person activities

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 25

 Internal mobility
boosts retention and
builds workforce skills
Highlighting career paths based on organizational goals At the two-year mark, an employee who has made an internal
is both people-centric and business-centric. move has a greater chance of staying with their company.*

Helping people make an internal move boosts retention. 100%

And by expanding people’s networks and skills, internal
mobility naturally creates more organizational agility. 75%
80% likelihood of staying

56%
60% likelihood of staying

40%

20%

0%
Has made Has not made
an internal move an internal move

*Compared to an employee who hasn’t made a move.

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 Source: Global Talent Trends Internal Mobility Data; see “Methodology” page 26
 The internal
mobility disconnect Employees aren’t receiving the right support.

But when employees were asked about their experiences

The C-suite is now hyper-focused on mobilizing employees. in the past six months, they indicated they aren’t receiving
the right encouragement to support internal mobility:
Executives’ top priority is “keeping employees motivated
and engaged.” Their second priority is “giving employees
opportunities to move into different roles within the business.”*
Only 15%
of employees say their organization encouraged them to move
to a new role

Only 26%
say their organization challenged them to learn a new skill

Only 14%
say their organization encouraged them to build a new career
development plan

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 *Source: C-Suite Data; see “Methodology” page 27
 To spark more
mobility, L&D and
talent acquisition
can lead together
Within HR, ownership of internal mobility programs can be
fuzzy, but it’s clear that L&D and talent acquisition can drive
success by sharing insights and innovating to develop and
source internal talent. Here’s how:

Talent acquisition develops a culture and

process for internal hiring, prioritizing internal
talent as a rich and promising hiring pool

L&D provides skill-building paths and

resources, aligned to business needs and
employee career goals, creating a pipeline of
internal talent to match opportunities

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 28

 “Internal mobility, especially for
BIPOC employees, is about
opening up the playing field.”
Jackie Parker
Senior Vice President, Talent Management and
Chief Diversity Officer, Global Payments

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 29

 Bright idea “Every person in HR, regardless of seniority, should be
talking about learning with respect to career mobility
within their organization.

Have career conversations “Learning is not just a nice-to-have. Building an effective

with every employee workplace learning operation is about asking each
employee what their career aspirations are within a
company as a way to retain them.

“As the economy changes, HR has to help get people on

pathways to different jobs. We must collectively build a
career lattice rather than a career ladder.

“If there isn’t mobility in a certain part of an industry,

employees can explore different functions, find overlap
with their current skill set, and then add, tack, or stack on
new learning and skills. In a career lattice, employees
who know the industry can change functions: Hospital
employees can become registered nurses and clerical
staff in schools can become teachers.”

Jane Oates
President, WorkingNation and Former Assistant
Secretary, Employment and Training Administration,
U.S. Department of Labor

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 30

 Chapter 3

Six priorities
help L&D lead
the way in 2023
Success starts with holistic
thinking and clear focus.
Agile learning culture can’t be built alone. It can only
be designed when partners across the org come
together and listen to the true experts: employees
themselves. Read on for six priorities to help you and
your organization create a future that starts with
learners and their needs.

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023

 “More than ever, learning and
development professionals
have to be change agents.”
Rachel Richal
Vice President, Training, Buffalo Wild Wings and
President, Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers (CHART)

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 32

 #1
Invest in
Percentage of L&D pros who report a deeper relationship
with each function in the past year

cross-functional Talent
management
Employee
engagement
Diversity, equity,
and inclusion
Department
heads
Talent
acquisition

relationships 56% 56% 53% 48% 47%

L&D’s partnerships across HR and their companies

keep getting stronger:

L&D
77% of L&D pros say their role became
more cross-functional in the past year team

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 33

 #2
Hone your focus
Last year’s report found L&D pros weighed down with an Top 10 L&D program areas for 2023
overwhelming workload. They were moving to deploy
programs in DE&I and leading through change, as well as 1. Mentorships
tackling large-scale upskilling and reskilling initiatives.
2. DE&I
This year represents an opportunity to prioritize and be
more thoughtful about delivering people-centric impact. 3. Large-scale upskilling and reskilling
Key question: Why is internal mobility last on this priority list?
4. Employee well-being

5. Large-scale career development programs

6. Leading through change

7. Digital fluency transformation

8. Compliance

9. Hybrid or flexible work

10. Internal mobility program

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 34

 #3
Champion diversity,
equity, and inclusion
As in 2022, 55% of L&D pros say they own or share ownership for
DE&I programs. It’s important to continue promoting the many
benefits that come when all employees are empowered to be their
best selves — including stronger retention.

41% of organizations use DE&I programs

to improve employee retention

“When you create a diverse, inclusive culture,

employees contribute their best thinking,
become great managers to others, and
open the doors to innovations.”

Soon Mee Kim

Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer, Omnicom

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 35

#4
Improve your Top ways L&D measures success
Vanity metrics Business metrics

data literacy 1. Employee satisfaction, measured via survey

While aligning learning programs to business 2. Employee satisfaction, informal or qualitative feedback
strategies is L&D’s No. 1 goal this year, the metrics
don’t line up. The top five ways L&D pros are 3. Number of employees taking courses or trainings
measuring success are vanity metrics, based on
satisfaction with programs. Business metrics fall to 4. Employee performance on post-learning quizzes or assessments
the middle or bottom of the list.
5. Number of courses or trainings each employee has completed

6. Improved performance reviews

7. Team or org business metrics

8. Improved employee productivity

9. Improved employee retention

10. Number of hours spent learning

11. Progress toward closing workforce skill gaps

12. Number of new skills learned per learner

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 36

 #5
Activate
people managers
Helping employees expand their skills isn’t something
to avoid out of fear of losing people. It’s a business
imperative — which is why it’s disappointing that only
35% of learners were encouraged to learn by their
manager in the past six months. But it’s good to see
“supporting career development” on the list of priority
training topics for managers in the year ahead.

Top three training topics for managers in 2023

#1 Leadership and management skills

Role-specific digital upskilling and

#2 digital transformation

#3 Supporting employee career development

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 37

 #6
Prioritize your own learning
L&D pros need to make time for their own skill building — it’s
like putting on an oxygen mask before helping others. That
includes developing in areas beyond core HR and training
capabilities to support L&D’s greater visibility and influence.

Top five fastest growing skills for L&D*

Skills with the highest growth rates from September 2021 to
September 2022 among L&D professionals globally

#1 Presentation skills

#2 Analytical skills

#3 Customer experience

#4 Operations

#5 Process improvement

*Excluding core L&D and HR skills, such as training and development, and instruction design.
LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 Source: Fastest Growing Skills Data; see “Methodology” page 38
 Recommended
Presentation Skills
Creating and Delivering

courses to match
Presentation Nano Tips
by Jessica Chen

the fastest Analytical Skills

growing skills Introduction to Business Analytics

by John Ariansen and Madecraft

Customer Skills
Customer Experience:
Creating Customer Personas
by Myra Golden

Operations

Operation Management Foundations

by Eduardo Davila

Process Improvement
Creating a Culture of
Continuous Improvement
by Vincent Mirabelli

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 39

 Other Speaking Confidently and Effectively
by Pete Mockaitis

recommendations
from LinkedIn’s Project Management Foundations
by Bonnie Biafore

most popular Organizational Learning

courses list and Development

by Britt Andreatta

Developing Your Emotional Intelligence

by Gemma Leigh Roberts

Coaching Skills for Leaders

and Managers
by Sara Canaday

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 40

 Bright idea
Embrace the uniquely human side of L&D

“Turns out, robots can’t do everything. The pandemic has taught us the importance
of the humans that make up an organization. L&D practitioners are in a unique
situation to nurture those humans by meeting one of their fundamental needs —
the need to grow and develop.

“Today, we’re seeing more L&D practitioners embrace their role as agility enablers,
which often means less content creation and more learning culture creation.
Smart L&D leaders are getting out of the way and creating the conditions to help
employees to focus on the right stuff to build the right skills to move the org forward.”

Dani Johnson
Cofounder & Principal Analyst, RedThread Research

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 41

 Don’t move backwards

“If employees aren’t learning, they aren’t refining their skills

or innovating. They and the organization are effectively
moving backwards.”
Andrew Saidy
Vice President of Global Talent, Ubisoft

Showcase learning as part of recruiting

“Recruiting events should include presentations from L&D to

showcase career growth paths, development opportunities,
and success stories from staff.”
Crystal Lim-Lange
CEO & Cofounder, Forest Wolf

Tips, tactics, and Give learners a seat at the table

inspiring words
“Too many companies build learning programs in a laboratory
without asking, ‘Is this really working? How have learners’ voices
influenced the programs we’re building? What do workers

from global voices need, especially the frontline workforce, early workforce, and
individuals in lower-wage occupations? And as a company,
have we given them a seat at the table to tell us if the learning
programs are working?’ ”
Cat Ward
Vice President, Jobs for the Future

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 42

 Be ready for learners to ask, “What’s in it for me?”

“The job of a people leader in any organization is becoming more

complex, and we have enormous expectations from leaders
today. We must use learners’ time prudently by making sure they
can answer the question, ‘What’s in it for me?’ Once they see the

Reimagine onboarding value in accessing learning content or a development opportunity,

half the battle is won.”
Nikhil Shahane
“We think of onboarding and learning as the Vice President, Global Talent & Engagement, TechnipFMC
holistic ‘new hire experience.’ To improve
this experience, we moved from fragmented
employee communications on different platforms Break the cycle of stealing talent
to one central source, compiled learning
“Everyone wants experienced workers but lacks the capacity to
resources in one place, and provided resources train the new folks, so they are stealing talent from each other. We
for the critical time between accepting the need to figure out a way to break this cycle — and that includes
job and starting, and we have been piloting investing in the training capacity to grow brand new workers.”
automated text nudges. We’ve already seen Van Ton-Quinlivan
significant improvement in how new hires feel Chief Executive Officer, Futuro Health

during their first few months at the company.”

Think big
Christopher Lind “We all have some huge issues with sustainability, climate
Vice President and Chief Learning Officer,
change, global inequalities, and pending environmental collapse.
ChenMed
Learning gives us the power to change our thinking, adapt our
behaviors, and deliver new choices. Don’t be distracted. Be bold.”
David Perring
Director of Research, Fosway Group

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 43

 Include immigrant Embed yourself in the business

“We shadow different teams to understand how the business makes

and refugee talent money, how each team operates, and where pain points are, and
then build learning programs tied to business goals, team needs,
“Most businesses should think about hiring and overall strategy.”
and upskilling their immigrant and refugee Benton McTaggart
Chief People Officer, Meritize
talent. Immigrants and refugees will drive
future workforce growth in many communities.
For businesses that employ immigrants and Connect the KPIs
refugees already, the question is, ‘Are you “The rise of the employee experience and people analytics has
offering these employees the language refocused HR, reminding us that the output of HR activities are not
learning and digital skills they need to advance numerous unconnected KPIs but a connected experience with
in your business and leverage their bilingual individual employees at the center. By using HR data to answer
cross-functional questions (such as about the impact of L&D on
and bicultural assets?’ If you’re overlooking
performance or talent), different functions can align, collaborate,
these workers, you may be constraining the and even magnify each other’s impact.”
growth of your workforce — and possibly
Nigel Dias
risking company growth and profitability.” Managing Director, 3n Strategy and Chair, HR Analytics Think Tank

Anson Green
Prioritize skills practice
Senior Manager, Talent & Culture,
Tyson Foods
“Avoid the temptation to overinvest in content development.
The vast majority of the content that L&D spends time developing
can be sourced. Instead invest in opportunities to help employees
practice and use new skills.”
Shreya Sarkar-Barney
CEO, Human Growth Capital, Inc.

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 44

 Don’t silo L&D and talent management

“I don’t think we should consider talent management

Consider the
and learning to be separate. Even if you have a separate head
of learning and head of talent, their work will overlap in so

three E’s of learning

many ways. A holistic talent strategy includes talent acquisition,
performance management, succession planning, career pathing,
learning, employee engagement, and everything in between.”
“We frame development around three E’s Peter Attfield
— Education, Experience, and Exposure. Chief Talent and Learning Officer, Jardine Matheson

Education includes programs and

resources employees can use to build the
Leave L&D to the experts
skills needed to be successful. Experience
includes employees considering projects, “There is a myth that because most people have encountered some
form of learning, they are innately capable of building an effective
assignments, or tasks they can take on to
learning experience. Not true. You would not take your car to your
increase their skills and prepare for future dentist for an oil change even though your dentist drives a car.”
roles. Exposure encourages employees
Lori Niles-Hofmann
to be intentional about interactions with Senior Edtech Transformation Strategist, NilesNolen
people, business areas, or organizations
that increase their visibility and give them
Let Gen Z set the standard
a holistic view of Johnson & Johnson.”
“The generation that we’re training now knows that information should
be quickly available at their fingertips in an easily digestible format.
Sandra Humbles When they need to know something, they go online with complete
Chief Learning Officer,
confidence that they will find the information they need. Training
Johnson & Johnson
should be the same way.”
David Faro
Senior Manager of Workforce and
Business Development, National Restaurant Association

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 45

 Bring in competition

“Buffalo Wild Wings runs a 10-month competition called Blazin’

Games. With a foundation of learning, over 1,200 teams
compete for the championship by earning points on a variety
Don’t overemphasize of metrics, including training completions and quizzing. The
Games are foundational to driving both culture and business
university education metrics with top performers seeing results such as higher sales
performance and lower turnover.”
“Too often, people leaders and hiring managers Rachel Richal
Vice President, Training, Buffalo Wild Wings and
confuse formal education with training and President, Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers (CHART)
skills. Industry certification is often more relevant
than a college degree from 20 years ago. For
both internal and external candidates, people Embrace flexibility
leaders must prioritize what’s required, what’s “Flexibility is not just about location, it is also about how
nice to have, and what’s trainable. That provides people learn and how leaders facilitate learning. It would be
a more nuanced understanding of the talent travesty for L&D professionals to not rethink what true flexibility
looks like when it comes to learning.”
pool workers who are skilled through alternative
routes (STARs) — and it doubles the talent pool Amy Williams
Head of Global Performance Development, Austin International
to choose the best candidate from.”

Over-prepare for change management

Yscaira Jimenez
Chief Innovation Officer,
“When preparing to manage change, I look at as much data as
Opportunity@Work
possible. I keep one set of notes where I overscript the process
and the communications to the point of ridiculousness, including
every stakeholder and everything I need to do.”
Deborah Wilson
Global Head of Talent Development, Shutterstock

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 46

 Conclusion

L&D holds the

keys to unlock
agility and growth
Maybe you’ve led your organization through all the waves
of change in the last few years. Or maybe you’ve just
started your career or recently made a move to L&D. No
matter where you’re coming from, this is your time to shine
and advocate learning as the engine for growth and agility
— for your company and for every employee.

As organizations seek ways to navigate shifting priorities,

rising employee expectations, and economic uncertainty,
learning will always help to build the skills and develop the
people for a stronger future.

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 47

 “Learning is key to your resilience as
a business. If you invest in curiosity,
learning, and agility for your workforce,
you will be able to bounce back from
setbacks, adapt to change, and be
more ready for whatever comes next.”
Cat Ward
Vice President, Jobs for the Future

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 48

 Acknowledgments
Deepest gratitude to everyone who graciously contributed
their talents, insights, and time to this report.

Gogi Anand of LinkedIn Johannes Lystbæk of the LEGO Group Research and Insights
Jodi Atkinson of Deltek Benton McTaggart of Meritize Sabrina Hodjati
Peter Attfield of Jardine Matheson Ariel Mendes of Rock Content Stephanie Scalice
Josh Bersin of The Josh Bersin Company Lori Niles-Hofmann of NilesNolen Cesar Zulaica Pineyro
Rajnish Borah of WNS Global Services Jane Oates of WorkingNation
Devika Brij of Brij the Gap Consulting Jackie Parker of Global Payments Inc.
Simon Brown of Novartis
Editorial &
David Perring of Fosway Group
Linda Jingfang Cai of LinkedIn
Thought Leadership
Tiffany Poeppelman of LinkedIn
Laurie Moot
Nigel Dias of 3n Strategy and HRAnalytics Think Tank Rachel Richal of Buffalo Wild Wings
Anne McSilver
David Faro of the National Restaurant Association Andrew Saidy of Ubisoft
Sonya Bessalel
Anson Green of Tyson Foods Shreya Sarkar-Barney of Human Growth Capital, Inc.
Sandra Humbles of Johnson & Johnson Nikhil Shahane of TechnipFMC
Yscaira Jimenez of Opportunity@Work Van Ton-Quinlivan of Futuro Health Creative Studio
Dani Johnson of RedThread Cat Ward of Jobs for the Future Molly Adler
Crystal Lim-Lange of Forest Wolf Amy Williams of Austin International Daniel Daquigan
Christopher Lind of ChenMed Deborah Wilson of Shutterstock Tim Dolen
Jared Freeden
Kaelin McGill
Eddie Paik
Rebecca Friedman
Kelsey Wilkins
Tyler Wilson

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 49

 Methodology
C-Suite Survey Data
LinkedIn commissioned YouGov to survey 2,929 C-level executives across the globe (United States,
United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Sweden, United Arab Emirates,
Brazil, Mexico, India, Singapore, Australia, China, and Japan) from organizations with 1,000+
employees and annual revenue of £250+ million between September 27 and October 19, 2022. The
The LinkedIn Learning survey was conducted online.

2023 Workplace Learning Report LinkedIn Learning Behavioral Economic Graph Data
LinkedIn Learning behavioral and Economic Graph data insights for this report were generated from
We surveyed 1,579 L&D and HR professionals with L&D the billions of data points created by more than 800 million LinkedIn members around the world.
responsibilities who have some influence on budget Specific analyses:
decisions and 722 learners. Surveyed geographies include:
North America (United States, Canada); South America
In-Demand Skills Data — “In Demand Skills” are defined as skills that are most sought after by
(Brazil); Asia-Pacific (Australia, New Zealand, India,
employers, hirers, or job-posters in the past six months. To determine the demand for a given
Cambodia, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar,
skill, we consider what skills employers have hired for in recent months as well as the skills they
Philippines, Thailand, Hong Kong); and Europe (United
look for when recruiting or posting jobs, which is calculated in the following three components:
Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg,
1) Skills possessed by members who have been hired recently, 2) Skills possessed by members
Norway, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Iceland, Denmark,
who have received recruiter InMails recently, and 3) Skills included in recent paid jobs listings.
France, Germany, Austria).

Fastest Growing Skills Data — This analysis looks at the Fastest Growing Skills among L&D
professionals (globally) between September 1, 2021, and September 1, 2022. “Fastest Growing
Skills” are the skills that have seen the largest year-over-year growth among L&D professionals
specifically. One way to interpret these findings is to view fastest growing skills as the skills
that are already important today — the skills that many members in a given population are
developing and adding to their profiles.

Future of Skills Data — For each job, we identify the most important skills in each year based
on LinkedIn’s Skills Genome. The similarity score between two years reflects both the overlap
of common skills between each year as well as the relative importance of those skills for
each year. How similar a skill is to another skill is calculated based on how frequently the skills
appear together on a LinkedIn’s member profile and other member data. All data represents
aggregated information from the last six years. Available occupations and industries may
vary by country, as we only include occupations and industries that meet the minimum privacy
threshold. For the year 2021, data used only represents skills added up to November 2021, and
does not represent the complete year.

Global Talent Trends Data on Internal Mobility — All data reflects aggregated LinkedIn
member activity as of August 2022. The “likelihood of the average employee remaining at the
company” is derived using time-to-event data. For this estimate, we studied the employment
data of active members who work for companies with 200+ employees and started after 2013.

LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2023 50

 Explore how
LinkedIn Learning
can help your team
Get in touch to schedule a free demo and discuss how
LinkedIn Learning can help you navigate transformation
while employees learn relevant skills, achieve their goals,
and make a greater impact.

Get a free demo now

LinkedIn Learning Workplace Learning Report 2023