Building Skills and Leaders: A Tale of Two Academies

Jennifer Edwards

Tuesday, February 25th, 2025

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This is the second blog post in a series on Degreed Academies. See the first.

Learning academies matter now more than ever. Why? consider that 72% of workers are prioritizing skill development. What’s one of the most effective ways to close their skill gaps? Structured learning programs that deliver real business results.

Degreed Academies helps your people do more than simply consume learning content. Through cohort-based learning, expert facilitation, and hands-on projects with feedback from peers and facilitators, it’s designed to develop employees with the skills they need to stay competitive. 

Today, let’s take a journey into how an HR leader at a financial services company—we’ll call him Alex—could use Degreed Academies to tackle two critical challenges. The first is implementing training for new technologies. And the second is minting future leaders to ensure a stable succession pipeline.

Setting the Stage: Alex’s Challenges

Alex, our hypothetical VP of Human Resources, faces two pressing workforce development challenges. 

1. Technology Upskilling: His company is rolling out an AI-driven risk management platform and employees need to become proficient quickly.
2. Leadership Development: While the company has talented individuals there’s no structured program to prepare them for leadership roles.

With these challenges in mind, Alex turns to Degreed Academies to create scalable and impactful learning experiences.

Academy No. 1: Training on a New Technology

While many of the employees at Alex’s company are using generative AI applications like ChatGPT, Bard, and Gemini, they still feel unprepared for the new risk management platform. To ensure his company has a smooth transition to the new software, Alex launches an academy focused on technical upskilling.

The new technical upskilling academy incorporates: 

• Cohort-based learning. Alex groups employees by role (for example, connecting all the company’s risk analysts) to focus on how AI enhances decision making. Learning isn’t just passive; participants collaborate in live training sessions and on projects. 
• Real-world application. Employees complete and submit a capstone project demonstrating their proficiency using the AI risk management software. They receive feedback from their peers and facilitators.
• Flexible learning options. Because employees have varying schedules, Alex offers a mix of self-paced online modules and live sessions featuring platform experts. This ensures everyone can participate without disrupting daily operations.

The Impact:  Within three months, 90% of employees have completed the academy, and usage of the AI platform surges. Employees report feeling confident in their ability to use the new technology, and the financial services firm experiences a measurable improvement in risk analysis efficiency.

Academy No. 2: Building Future Leaders

Leadership training should be more than a perk. It’s a necessity for any future-ready business. In one recent study, only 4% of employees surveyed identified becoming a C-suite executive as a top ambition, and only 9% were interested in becoming a people manager. Alex, our fictional HR leader, noticed the same trend at his employer.

To ensure his company has a strong leadership pipeline, Alex launches a new leadership academy using Degreed Academies. 

The new leadership academy incorporates:

• Sequential learning. Employees progress through content and activities in an ordered and chronological skill-building format that includes prerequisites. It’s designed so skills learned build on each other as participants move forward.
• Peer-to-peer learning. Live cohort discussions promote problem solving, knowledge sharing, and networking. Discussion boards further connect participants, who provide feedback on each other’s posts and projects.
• Actionable insights. Using reporting features specific to Academies as well as integrated Degreed reporting features, Alex tracks participant progress and identifies opportunities for improvement. 

The Impact: After a year, the leadership academy graduates three cohorts. Participants report having more confidence in themselves, and managers who completed the program are 25% more likely to be promoted within six months. Based on this success, Alex and C-suite leaders decide to bring the leadership academy back annually.

Conclusion: A Blueprint for Success

Alex has transformed workforce development at his company.

Degreed Academies is designed to help organizations empower their workforce with scalable, flexible, and data-driven learning solutions. From equipping employees with the latest technology skills to nurturing leadership potential, Degreed Academies offers a tailored, often blended, approach to workforce development—all integrated into the overall Degreed Learning experience. 

Degreed Academies can help you turn challenges into opportunities, whether you’re introducing new technology, developing leaders, or building skills across your entire talent lifecycle.

What’s your next step?

Ready to write your organization’s success story? Learn more about how Degreed Academies can empower your workforce and drive results.