Smarter Skills Mapping with AI for Faster, Targeted Learning

If you work in L&D, you know the challenge. You’ve got a rich learning ecosystem, a skills framework to match, and a workforce that needs the right development at the right time. The tricky part is connecting it all together.

When job roles shift – as they often do during organizational transformation – the task gets even bigger. New roles need fresh learning pathways. Outdated ones are retired. And every course, module, and resource needs to be aligned to the skills that matter.

On paper, it sounds like an admin job, but it’s actually one of the most complex and time-consuming parts of workforce planning. For instance, the extensive IBM Talent Framework Library that we often recommend to Lexonis’ clients contains thousands of invaluable skills definitions. Even if a client were to use a proportion of these, the work and effort required to map appropriate learning manually, is onerous. However, there is a solution!

Why Mapping Matters

LinkedIn Learning’s 2024 Workplace Learning Report found that 85% of L&D professionals see skills-to-learning mapping as essential for closing gaps, yet 63% lack the time ¹ to do it well. Without it, you risk:

• Learning that doesn’t address priority skill needs
• Employees are unsure which development will move them forward
• L&D teams are spread too thin to focus on strategy

And with most large organizations now using 4 – 6 different learning platforms ², each with its own tagging and structure, manual mapping can quickly become unmanageable.

How it Works in Practice

We’ve seen this challenge time and again in large, complex organizations – from global IT providers to multinational manufacturers. Job architectures are reviewed, new roles are introduced, and others are retired. Skills frameworks evolve to match the future direction of the organization.

The next hurdle is mapping every relevant piece of learning from across multiple platforms to the updated skills framework. Done manually, this can take months.

Drawing on our experience at Lexonis, helping sectors worldwide implement skills solutions, we’ve applied AI-based mapping in these situations to deliver faster, more accurate results. We have seen months’ worth of work by multiple subject matter experts, reduced to days. By tuning the AI to an organization’s unique skills, language, and business priorities, the mapping is not only completed in a fraction of the time but also aligned closely to what matters most for development. This frees L&D leaders to focus on designing and delivering impactful learning interventions instead of wrestling with spreadsheets.

---

How AI Helps

AI mapping isn’t magic – it’s a great tool that, when set up well, can:

• Process vast learning catalogues across multiple platforms
• Map resources to skills with consistent, transparent logic
• Free up L&D teams to focus on design, not data entry

From our experience, the key is in the preparation. The better defined your skills framework, the more precise your mapping. And the more context the AI is given – sector-specific skills, internal naming conventions, even strategic priorities – the more relevant the results.

Shifting the Focus to What Matters

Once the mapping is done, the conversation changes. Instead of “Do we have learning for this skill?”, it becomes “Which learning is the best fit for this skill gap?”

For employees, this means a curated, targeted set of development options. No guesswork. No wading through hundreds of irrelevant courses. Just clear, relevant choices that help them build the skills that matter to their role and career.

CIPD research shows that employees with clear development pathways are 74% more likely to stay ³. That’s a retention advantage no organization can afford to overlook.

Why Timing is Everything

The World Economic Forum predicts that 44% of workers’ core skills will change by 2030 ⁴. Organizations that can quickly update their skills frameworks and map relevant learning will be better placed to keep up with that pace of change.

AI isn’t the answer to everything. But it can make the difference between spending months on mapping or moving quickly to deliver meaningful development.

Our Takeaway

From what we’ve seen, AI learning-to-skills mapping delivers the best results when:

1. It’s grounded in a strong skills framework — messy inputs make for messy outputs.
2. It’s combined with human oversight — the best mapping blends speed with expert judgement.

It’s a process that requires both the right technology and the right people steering it. And when those come together, the impact is felt not just in the L&D team, but across the organization.

If you’re exploring ways to connect your learning to your skills framework more effectively, Lexonis’ AI learning-to-skills mapping service can help.

Book a 15-minute consultation with our team to discuss your specific situation and see a demonstration of how we’ve helped organizations like yours reduce months of work to just days.

For the remainder of 2025, Lexonis and IBM are offering a discounted license for the IBM Talent Framework Library. Contact Lexonis and reference this blog post (Smarter Skills Mapping) to find out more.

Sources:

¹ LinkedIn Learning, 2024 Workplace Learning Report, https://learning.linkedin.com/resources/workplace-learning-report

² Gartner, How to Build a Skills-Driven Learning Strategy, https://www.gartner.com

³ CIPD, Resourcing and Talent Planning Survey 2023, https://www.cipd.org

⁴ World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Report 2023, https://www.weforum.org