Business growth can bring new opportunities, but it can also create new demands for your workforce.

As organisations expand, introduce new technologies, enter new markets or take on different responsibilities, the skills employees need can change too. Having the right people and capabilities in place can therefore be an important part of preparing for what comes next.

Employers are already placing greater emphasis on developing the talent they have. Recent CIPD research found that 48% of UK employers have increased their efforts to develop talent in-house over the past year.

Investing in professional qualifications is one way employers can support this development, while giving existing employees opportunities to grow alongside the organisation.

Here are five reasons why upskilling could form part of your business growth strategy.

1. Build the skills you'll need for future growth

Growth doesn't always happen in predictable ways. New technology and evolving business priorities can all influence the skills an organisation needs.

Waiting until a skills gap becomes a problem can leave businesses having to respond quickly, whether through recruitment, restructuring or outsourcing. Skills shortages are already affecting employers, with Skills England reporting that more than a quarter of UK job vacancies are hard to fill due to a lack of suitable candidates.

Developing skills proactively gives organisations more opportunity to prepare for what they need next. This starts with understanding where the business is heading and identifying the capabilities that will help support those plans.

For example, an organisation planning to make greater use of data may need employees who can analyse information and turn it into useful insights. A business adopting AI may need people who can use new tools effectively and apply them within their roles.

For other organisations, developing financial, accountancy, leadership or broader business skills may be more closely aligned with their growth plans. The important thing is to consider the skills the organisation will need and how they can be developed ahead of demand.

2. Develop the talent you already have

Once an organisation understands which skills it needs, the next question is where those skills can come from. Recruitment will always have a role to play in bringing new skills into an organisation, but hiring externally isn't the only way to build capability.

Your existing workforce already understands your organisation, customers, processes and ways of working. Developing their skills allows you to build on that knowledge while helping employees take on new responsibilities or move into different areas of the business.

This could mean supporting an employee to gain a professional qualification, building technical skills relevant to their work, or helping someone move into a new area of the business.

For employers, developing existing employees provides another way to build the capabilities they need without relying solely on external recruitment. It can also make workforce planning more proactive, by identifying where existing employees could develop into the roles and responsibilities the business will need in the future.

Instead of only asking which roles need filling, businesses can consider which skills they already have, where gaps exist, and where their existing workforce could develop further.

3. Give employees the skills to take on new opportunities

Building capability isn't only about filling future skills gaps. As a business grows, employees may find themselves taking on responsibilities that weren't part of their original role.

A growing organisation might need people to manage larger projects, work with new systems, analyse more complex information or collaborate across different areas of the business. Giving employees the opportunity to build new skills can help them adapt to these changes while putting what they learn into practice in their day-to-day work.

For example, financial skills could help employees better understand the commercial side of their work. Data skills could enable teams to make better use of the information available to them, while digital and AI skills can help employees work effectively as new technologies become part of their roles.

This is particularly relevant as AI becomes part of more employees' day-to-day work. Kaplan's From AI to ROI: Who owns the problem? report found that 33% of employees had been asked to work with AI without receiving sufficient training. At the same time, 81% of employees who had received AI training in the previous 12 months described it as effective.

The value of this development comes from employees being able to apply what they learn. Rather than sitting separately from their day-to-day work, new skills can help people adapt to changing responsibilities and contribute to the opportunities that come with business growth.

4. Support retention through development

Upskilling can also support the people a business already has by giving employees clearer opportunities to progress as the organisation grows.

Employees may want to understand how they can progress and what they need to do to take their next step. Providing access to relevant learning and development can help make those pathways clearer.

This is also an area where employers are turning to learning and development as part of their approach to retention. LinkedIn's 2025 Workplace Learning Report found that 88% of organisations are concerned about employee retention, with providing learning opportunities the most commonly reported retention strategy.

For employers, supporting progression can help employees see how their current role connects to their longer-term goals. It can also help build a pipeline of people with the skills and experience needed for future roles, reducing the need to look externally every time a new position becomes available.

Development isn't a guarantee that an employee will stay, but making learning and progression part of the employee experience can give existing talent more reasons and opportunities to build their future within the organisation.

5. Make learning investment work for the business

Even when an organisation has identified the skills it needs and the people who could develop them, learning investment needs to connect back to business priorities.

Before investing in a programme, employers can consider which skills they need to develop, which business priorities those skills will support, and how employees will apply what they learn in their roles.

For example, if improving reporting is a priority, developing employees' data or analytical skills could support that goal. If the organisation is preparing for greater use of AI, building employees' ability to work effectively with AI tools could support that transition.

This connection can also make conversations about funding more straightforward. Rather than viewing learning as an individual expense, employers and employees can consider how a programme supports the employee's role while contributing to wider business priorities.

The approach to funding will depend on the organisation, its budget and its needs. Some employers may be able to provide full funding, while others may consider partial funding, a different programme or a later start date.

For employers and employees exploring how to fund professional development, Kaplan offers a range of funding options to help make learning a practical part of workforce development.

Making upskilling part of your growth strategy

The right approach to upskilling will depend on your organisation's goals, existing capabilities and plans for the future. The key is to connect employee development with where the business is heading, identifying the skills you need and giving employees opportunities to build them.

Professional qualifications can be one way to build these capabilities, while apprenticeships offer a way for employees to develop knowledge and skills alongside their existing role. They can also support longer-term development by helping employees build the capabilities they need as their responsibilities grow.

If you're looking to develop the skills your business needs for the future, explore Kaplan's professional qualifications and apprenticeships.