4 Trends Shaping Technical Training Featuring Amazon Web Services

The cost of not investing in skills development is real. Sixty-three percent of employers report that skills gaps are the primary barrier to business transformation, according to the World Economic Forum. Meanwhile, more than 50% of CEOs anticipate that labor and skills shortages will significantly impact organizational profitability over the next decade. As explored in our recent playbook, Building High-Performing Teams through Targeted Training, these challenges require a strategic approach to technical upskilling.

In our ongoing examination of these challenges, we spoke with Jenni Troutman, Director, Products and Services at AWS Training and Certification. Through their work with customers and partners across more than 200 countries and territories, AWS has gained extensive insights into how organizations are evolving their technical training approaches to address the growing skills gap.

“With the rapid pace of technology innovation, training your workforce is no longer a nice-to-do, but a must-do,” Troutman notes.

Drawing from AWS's observations across thousands of customer organizations, this article explores four significant trends reshaping technical training in 2025 and beyond.

Trend #1: Organization-Wide AI Literacy Is Becoming Essential

While AI expertise was once confined to specialized technical teams, organizations across industries are now recognizing the need to establish baseline AI literacy throughout their entire workforce.

“Over the past 18 months, the introduction of GenAI to simplify and improve our everyday life activities demonstrated that it's more than just a trend; it's a seismic shift,” Troutman observes based on customer patterns.

This widespread adoption creates a new imperative for technical leaders. As Troutman has observed across AWS's customer base: “The use of cloud, and emerging technologies like generative AI, is no longer isolated to the IT department. The c-suite, sales, marketing, HR, finance, procurement, and more need to understand cloud and AI to increase efficiency, cross-organization collaboration, and drive new customer innovations.”

In 2024, AWS observed this trend accelerating, as their customers and partners sought to help employees gain AI fluency. This demand enabled AWS to train more than two million people globally with free AI skills in just one year as part of Amazon's "AI Ready" commitment.

Technical leaders should consider:

• How to create foundational AI training that's accessible to both technical and non-technical teams

• Ways to explain AI concepts without overwhelming those without technical backgrounds

• Building understanding of AI's potential applications and limitations across departments

Trend #2: Role-specific technical training enhances foundational learning

While foundational training remains important for establishing common understanding, organizations are increasingly supplementing it with role-specific learning paths. This complementary approach recognizes that different technical functions apply technologies in unique ways that require specialized knowledge.

“Our customers are often looking for hands-on training experiences that give their employees confidence with specific services and technologies, help accelerate development, minimize errors and downtime, and overall boost productivity of the team,” Troutman explains, based on AWS's work with thousands of organizations.

This targeted approach is gaining traction as it connects technical concepts to practical applications relevant to each role. For example, Troutman notes that while many roles benefit from understanding generative AI fundamentals, their specific implementation needs vary considerably:

• Software developers need to understand customization patterns and how to integrate AI capabilities into applications

• IT administrators require skills to implement and manage AI-powered tools securely

• Data analysts need proficiency with AI-augmented business intelligence tools for enhanced visualization and calculations

“We help our customers map their current skills gaps to their digital transformation strategies, making a tailored plan to train the teams across their organization in the skills required to meet their goals,” Troutman observes. Organizations find that combining foundational knowledge with role-specific applications creates more immediate impact and relevance for technical teams.

The trend extends to learning formats as well. Different roles may benefit from different learning modalities—from hands-on labs for developers to case studies for cloud architects or shorter modules for time-constrained leaders.

Technical leaders should consider:

• Building upon foundational training with role-specific learning paths

• Ensuring training content directly relates to the actual tools and challenges each role encounters

• Incorporating multiple learning formats that address different technical specialties

Trend #3: Micro-credentials are validating technical skills development

Across industries, organizations are increasingly turning to micro-credentials to validate technical skills development and provide clear markers of achievement for learners. Coursera’s recently published Micro-Credentials Impact Report, which surveyed 2,000 students and employers across six regions, found that 85% of employers are more likely to hire a candidate who has a micro-credential compared to one without. Additionally, 3 in 4 employers say they’d hire a less experienced candidate with a GenAI credential over someone more experienced without one.

This trend reflects a growing recognition that technical professionals need tangible ways to demonstrate their capabilities both internally and externally.

“We offer prescriptive training paths, digital badging credentials, and industry-recognized certification credentials. These tools are tremendous resources for leaders to build cloud talent within their organization, and identify skilled talent during the hiring process,” Troutman observes based on AWS's work with customers.

One example of structured training paths that result in credentials are Professional Certificates which focus on foundational skills for specific roles, including:

• AWS Cloud Support Associate

• AWS Cloud Consultant

• AWS Cloud Solutions Architect

Organizations who adopt these sorts of micro-credentials are seeing multiple benefits for their teams. A study conducted by Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) found that 84% of learners said AWS Training improved their on-the-job efficiency and 83% reported improved effectiveness. Meanwhile, Coursera’s Micro-Credentials Impact Report found that 70% of learners say their productivity increased after earning a micro-credential, and over 60% developed better problem-solving skills.

This data points to a broader trend where technical credentials deliver value beyond simply validating skills—they're leading to tangible improvements within teams.

Technical leaders should consider:

• Incorporating industry-recognized credentials into learning pathways

• Creating opportunities to celebrate credential achievements within teams

• Using credentials to identify internal talent for specific technical challenges

Trend #4: Continuous learning is becoming a strategic business imperative

Perhaps the most significant shift observed across organizations is treating continuous technical learning not as an HR function but as a core business strategy essential for survival. This perspective is transforming how companies approach technical skills development.

“L&D cannot be a one-and-done endeavor; technology is changing much too rapidly,” Troutman has observed across customer organizations. "Organizations must see training as a strategic business investment that equips employees with the cutting-edge skills to innovate each day in their work.”

This strategic imperative is particularly evident in emerging technology areas. “AI and generative AI skills will continue to be paramount, with high quality data and governance as key factors,” notes Troutman. “Generative AI outcomes are only as good as your data.”

The strategic view also affects how organizations measure training effectiveness. According to Troutman, “Measuring the business impact of ongoing training comes down to what can be accomplished that was not possible without the skills development. This takes into account your teams' engagement, retention, efficiency, collaboration, and confidence to take risks.”

This perspective represents a fundamental shift from viewing technical training as a cost center to seeing it as a strategic enabler of business capabilities and innovation.

Technical leaders should consider:

• Conducting regular skills audits to identify emerging gaps

• Creating ongoing learning pathways rather than one-time training events

• Measuring impact through new capabilities rather than just completion metrics

Technical training drives a culture of learning

These four trends—organization-wide AI literacy, role-specific training approaches, validation through micro-credentials, and continuous learning as a business imperative—reflect a fundamental shift in how organizations are approaching technical skills development.

As observed by AWS across their customer base, technical training is evolving from isolated learning activities to an integrated system that prepares the entire organization for technological transformation. This holistic approach aligns perfectly with our playbook's framework for building high-performing technical teams through targeted training.

“None of us can know exactly what 2025 will bring, given how quickly AI, and its impact on your business and people, is evolving,” Troutman notes. “What you can control is the environment you create that allows your workforce to take on new challenges and opportunities with confidence by developing a culture of continuous learning.”

Organizations that embrace these trends are positioning themselves to navigate the skills challenges outlined in our playbook and emerge stronger in an increasingly complex technological landscape.