A resource to help talent professionals demonstrate how skills-based talent management delivers agility, innovation, and sustained growth.
The talent landscape is shifting faster than ever. Skills gaps are widening, AI is redefining entire industries, and economic volatility is raising the stakes for organizations in every sector. Korn Ferry warns that a shortage of 85 million skilled workers could erase $8.5 trillion in global revenue by 2030. In a 2025 IBM survey of 2,000 CEOs, 67% of CEOs said differentiation depends on having the right skills in the right positions. However, 31% of the workforce will require retraining and/or reskilling over the next three years. The message is clear: The old talent playbook is broken. Businesses that fail to adapt will fall behind.
Forward-thinking companies are meeting this challenge by adopting skills-based talent practices. This approach focuses on what people can do and how they can grow, rather than where they have worked or what credentials they hold. It enables businesses to fill critical roles more quickly, build a more adaptable workforce, and improve retention by creating new pathways for internal mobility.
Even when the need for change is clear, turning an idea into a fully funded initiative requires enterprise-wide alignment, evidence, and strong leadership support. Champions of this work must engage decision-makers, build enthusiasm, and demonstrate how skills-first strategies directly drive business performance.
This tool equips you to do exactly that. It provides a step-by-step guide, practical templates, and data sources to help you link your initiative to measurable business outcomes. Whether you’re launching a pilot or expanding an enterprise-wide strategy, this resource will help you demonstrate how skills-based talent management delivers agility, innovation, and sustained growth.
Since 2020, Jobs for the Future has partnered with Business Roundtable (BRT) to lead the Multiple Pathways Initiative (MPI), which engages nearly 80 BRT member companies in a multi-year targeted effort to expand employment and opportunity for Americans without college degrees. Through this work, human resources (HR) professionals and other talent leaders have tested real strategies for adopting, implementing, and scaling skills-based talent practices. The best practices, tools, and insights in this resource are drawn from those employer experiences, ensuring that every recommendation is grounded in what works in practice.
As a national leader in the skills-first movement, JFF offers customized support to companies interested in adopting skills-based strategies. Learn more about how we can help your organization drive results that are good for people and good for business.
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Lead with the latest skills-based practices Subscribe to JFF’s skills-first newsletter to get the latest insights, tools, and resources for putting these strategies into action. Creating a Skills-First Future Together Let’s talk We believe that…