Netex is a Business Reporter client

The growing use of artificial intelligence is reshaping not only the types of employees that British companies need, but also the capacity of their training systems to prepare workers at the speed the market now demands.

And a second debate is taking shape within the wider UK economy: whether technology is becoming a levelling force that increases opportunity, or an amplifier of the disparities between those who can use AI with confidence and those who struggle to adapt.

Recent data suggests the shift is already well under way. More than half of UK employees have used some form of AI tool in the past year, according to PwC’s UK Hopes and Fears Survey 2025. It is a striking figure that reflects the pace at which job roles, daily tasks and internal processes are evolving across organisations.

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 calling for clearer development pathways and more structured support to remain relevant in a rapidly changing environment.

Yet that demand does not always find a timely response. Learning and development teams admit their existing models are not designed to teach AI-related skills to thousands of employees at the speed required by the market.

Two structural barriers tend to limit progress. The first is the lack of time available for employees to learn during the working day. The second is the difficulty many firms face when attempting to measure the business impact of training initiatives. When time is limited and the return on investment is uncertain, learning competes with other organisational priorities and often loses.

Learning and development teams admit their existing models are not designed to teach AI-related skills to thousands of employees at the speed required (Netex)

In a labour market such as the UK’s – characterised by persistent shortages of qualified candidates – reducing investment in L&D is not a realistic option. The Resource and Talent Planning 2024 survey published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the country’s leading HR body, shows that many organisations now accept they cannot close existing skills gaps solely through recruitment.

As a result, they have begun to reinforce 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, characterised by longer technological cycles and slower organisational change.

The British government has sought to understand the impact of corporate learning with greater precision. In its review A Rapid Review of Reviews on Learning and Development and Employee Engagement and Wellbeing, it concludes that L&D programs only deliver sustainable results when integrated into broader growth strategies. HR teams therefore need to define training models that align learning with business priorities. Organisations capable of doing this will be better positioned to translate AI adoption into real productivity gains.

In this context, specialist partners are proving increasingly important. Netex, a Spanish company with more than three decades of experience developing digital learning solutions for major corporations and public institutions, has witnessed the sector’s transformation first-hand – from early learning management systems to today’s data-driven, AI-enabled environments.

Its chief executive, Carlos Ezquerro, believes the shift in corporate priorities mirrors the government’s findings. “Learning has become a central component of business performance,” he says. “Companies are no longer looking for catalogues of courses, but for systems that connect people with the knowledge they need to progress in their roles.”

In the era of AI, organisations are relying on L&D to help them navigate the technological transition. “Structures and processes evolve constantly, 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 scheduling courses towards managing knowledge more strategically and designing learning experiences that accompany digital transformation. “We work with organisations adopting more data-led operating models. Our job is to help them accelerate that shift by developing dynamic learning environments that evolve at the same rhythm as their business.”

Having the flex: There’s a need for short-form content that can be completed within the working day (Netex)

Although the UK market is experimenting with different training models, organisations tend to converge around three priorities when reassessing 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 stepping away from operational responsibilities. The second is ensuring that internal knowledge circulates effectively between teams, so the expertise accumulated by senior employees is not lost. The third is the integration of analytics, content and personalised 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 the digital transition. “Learning is consolidating its status as a strategic function,” Ezquerro notes. “Its work increasingly centres on managing knowledge and linking individual development with corporate objectives.

“We will see L&D teams become more analytical, more capable of anticipating emerging skills needs and more effective at personalising learning at scale. At Netex, we support this shift by integrating AI, data and pedagogy so that talent development is managed with the same rigour as any other critical business decision.”

In the UK corporate landscape, the strategic value of training is measured by its ability to sustain productivity in a labour market that struggles to fill key roles. AI is intensifying that pressure by accelerating the pace of change and widening capability gaps. Companies that align their L&D programs with the skills they genuinely need – rather than with legacy frameworks – will navigate talent shortages more effectively and strengthen their competitive position in the process.

By Sheila Matatoros, Social Media & Communications Manager, Netex Learning