With skills shortages rising and employee stress levels high in an uncertain employment landscape, reskilling has overtaken wellbeing as the number one HR concern for UK employers in 2025.
That represents a major shift from last year’s priorities, as noted by HR and payroll provider SD Worx. It is witnessing the transition firsthand, as businesses grapple with opportunities to retain talent, close skill gaps, and prepare for future workforce needs. Among the statistics the company has uncovered, reskilling has overtaken wellbeing as the top HR concern (29.3% vs. 27.7%).
HR departments are moving to use career development and internal mobility to tackle talent shortages as they note the link between high stress levels (52% of UK workers) and HR strategy in 2025.
To get some insights into the deeper moves, CXM talked to Laura Miller, UK people country lead at SD Worx, whose 13-year career in HR gives great experience in the frield. She takes a people-centric approach in all that she does, balancing business needs with a strong focus on wellbeing, engagement, and culture.
What skills (apart from AI) do you think will be vital over the next couple of years?
Adaptability. The world of work is ever-changing, and transparently, job descriptions can’t always keep up. Businesses need to move at pace so the most essential skill for any employee is flexibility and openness to change.
As a ballpark figure, what’s the percentage of workers across a typical business actually seek and take upskilling courses or projects?
At SD Worx, as part of our ‘impact culture’ we look at the amount of colleagues that are ‘impact players’. 34% of our people fit into this category, and it’s those that are really committed to continually developing themselves, and naturally want to climb up through the business and upskill themselves. A business should want all colleagues to feel fulfilled at work, and in turn deliver the best experience for customers, so it shouldn’t be that upskilling is forced on people. Instead it’s about finding a balance between supporting those that want to, and those that are happy where they are, delivering what’s expected of them.
What are the most popular upskilling opportunities that a) businesses offer and b) workers adopt?
Training and development budgets are the most common, and often really attractive to workers that have a growth mentality. However usually employees need to lead on this themselves, and it can fall to the bottom of the to-do list.
We’ve found that an agile approach and continuous learning culture is what works best. We offer 1000s of training courses, and very few are mandatory. Instead, it’s about encouraging colleagues to find topics that appeal to them and excite them.
The most important topic though is internal mobility. Businesses need to understand that career paths are no longer traditional and linear. It’s about lighting the spark in someone and supporting them to step into other roles that their CV might not naturally fit. It keeps you as their ‘employer of choice’ and that interesting and challenging career step can be what gives people purpose when they get out of bed in the morning.
Can upskilling fill the skills gap or is more formal training required?
It’s always going to be a balance. Experience in the field, or just in the wider company, is often as or more valuable than degrees or certifications. If you’re a growing company you’ll need to hire people, but giving colleagues the opportunity to grow and upskill can keep them happy and loyal. Ultimately you want those driven, trusted colleagues to step up into your leadership positions.
What’s the most successful individual or company-level example of upskilling you’ve heard of or worked on?
There’s many individual examples at SD Worx, and that’s because we really do shout about developing yourself and making the most of internal mobility. One colleague stepped up from operations administration into partner management, and now they head up our country support function. Another initially joined our support desk, and now they work in pre-sales. On one side it’s all about encouraging ambition and letting people be in the driver’s seat of their own career wherever possible. On the other, it’s about business leaders putting focus on identifying key talent and implementing robust succession plans to make sure teams are future-proofed too.
What’s the most important aspect of upskilling your workforce?
Business leaders need to focus on trust and patience. Trust that people who want to grow will take the steps to make it happen, and that these people are assets to a team, even if they make mistakes on their growth journey (which will always be the case!). And patience, because no skill can be learnt overnight. You need to encourage the potential that you see in people, give them the tools to succeed, and provide the right mentors to learn from.
Whatever the employee needs, HR teams need to be quick to adapt to keep their talent and hire workers capable of flexibility and growth.