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The increasing use of artificial intelligence is reshaping not only the type of employees that British companies need, but also the ability of their training systems to prepare workers at the pace that the market now demands.
And a second debate is taking shape within the UK’s wider economy: whether technology is becoming a leveling force that increases opportunity, or widening inequalities between those who can use AI with confidence and those who struggle to adapt.
Recent data suggests that change is already well underway. More than half of UK employees have used some form of AI tool in the past year, according to PwC UK Hopes and Fears Survey 2025This is an astonishing figure that reflects the speed at which job roles, daily tasks and internal processes are evolving in organizations,
Many professionals combine a genuine interest in emerging technologies with an equally strong concern about the long-term impact on their employability. As a result, they are demanding clearer growth paths and more structured support to remain relevant in a rapidly changing environment.
Yet that demand does not always receive a timely response. Learning and development teams recognize that their current models are not designed to teach AI-related skills to thousands of employees at the speed required by the market.
Two structural barriers limit progress. The first reason is the lack of time available for learning for employees during the working day. The second difficulty that many companies face is when attempting to measure the business impact of training initiatives. When time is limited and returns on investment are uncertain, learning competes with other organizational priorities and often loses out.
In a labor market like the UK – which is characterized by a persistent shortage of qualified candidates – reducing investment in L&D is not a realistic option. Resource and Talent Plan 2024 The survey published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the country’s leading human resources body, shows that many organizations now accept that they cannot close the existing skills gap through recruitment alone.
As a result, they have begun to strengthen internal development programs. The challenge here is that much of this training is still built on legacy structures designed for a more predictable industrial context, characterized by long technological cycles and slow organizational change.
The British government has sought to understand the impact of corporate education more accurately. in its review Rapid review of reviews on learning and development and employee engagement and well-beingIt concludes that L&D programs deliver sustainable results only when they are integrated into broader development strategies. HR teams therefore need to define training models that align learning with business priorities. Organizations able to do this will be better positioned to translate AI adoption into real productivity gains.
In this context, expert partners are proving increasingly important. netexA Spanish company with over three decades of experience developing digital learning solutions for major corporations and public institutions, it has witnessed the sector’s transformation firsthand – from early learning management systems to today’s data-driven, AI-enabled environments.
Its chief executive, Carlos Ezquerro, believes the change in corporate priorities reflects the government’s findings. “Learning has become a central component of business performance,” he says. “Companies are no longer looking for catalogs of courses, but rather systems that connect people to the knowledge they need to progress in their roles.”
In the age of AI, organizations are relying on L&D to help navigate technological change. “Structures and processes constantly evolve, but people are responsible for making that evolution possible. And they need support,” Ezquerro explains. He argues that corporate learning has moved away from simply prescribing courses to managing knowledge more strategically and designing learning experiences with digital transformation. “We work with organizations adopting more data-driven operating models. Our job is to help them accelerate that change by developing dynamic learning environments that evolve at the same rhythm as their business.”
Although the UK market is experimenting with different training models, organizations focus on three priorities when re-evaluating their approach to L&D.
The first is the need for short-form content that can be completed within the working day, allowing employees to develop key skills without taking away from operational responsibilities. The second is to ensure that internal knowledge is effectively transmitted between teams, so that expertise accumulated by senior staff is not lost. The third is the integration of analytics, content and personalized learning pathways within a single operating environment.
The direction L&D takes in the coming years will shape both the country’s productivity and the ability of British companies to benefit from digital transformation. “Learning is solidifying its position as a strategic function,” says Ezquerro. “Its work increasingly focuses on managing knowledge and linking personal development to corporate objectives.
“We will see L&D teams become more analytical, more able to anticipate emerging skill needs, and more effective at personalizing learning at scale. At Netex, we support this shift by integrating AI, data and pedagogy so that talent development can be managed with the same rigor as any other important business decision.”
In the UK corporate landscape, the strategic value of training is measured by its ability to maintain productivity in a labor market that struggles to fill key roles. AI is adding to that pressure by accelerating the pace of change and widening the capability gap. Companies that align their L&D programs with the skills they actually need – rather than legacy frameworks – will more effectively address talent shortages and strengthen their competitive position in the process.
By Sheila Mattoros, Social Media and Communications Manager, Netex Learning