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7 ways talent consulting can accelerate upskilling in mid-market organizations

August 26, 2026

TL;DR

Mid-market organizations often struggle to keep workforce skills aligned with changing business needs. Talent consulting can help identify critical skills gaps, develop existing talent and build capabilities for the future.

Keeping workforce skills aligned with business needs is becoming a bigger challenge for mid-market organizations. New technologies, changing roles and evolving customer demands can quickly create gaps between the capabilities a business has today and the skills it will need next.

But closing those gaps does not always mean hiring more people or adding more training. Organizations also need to understand which skills already exist, where employees can be developed and which capabilities need to be brought in from outside.

This is where talent consulting can help. By connecting skills assessment, workforce planning, talent acquisition and development, organizations can take a more targeted approach to building the capabilities they need for growth.

Upskilling starts with understanding the skills the business needs

Most organizations know their workforce will need new skills as their business evolves. The harder part is deciding which capabilities to prioritize and how to build them.

Should the organization develop existing employees, hire people with new capabilities or build talent pipelines for the future? In many cases, the answer is a combination of all three.

For mid-market organizations, this can be particularly challenging. HR teams may have less capacity to run large-scale workforce development programs while business priorities continue to change.

This is where talent consulting can add value. Instead of treating upskilling as a standalone learning initiative, it connects skills development with workforce planning, talent acquisition and broader business objectives.

Identify the skills gaps that matter most

Before investing in training, organizations need a clear view of the capabilities they have today and the skills they will need tomorrow.

A skills gap analysis can help leaders compare current workforce capabilities with future business requirements. This creates a clearer basis for deciding where development investment is likely to have the greatest impact.

For example, an organization introducing more AI into its operations may find that the gap goes beyond technical expertise. Employees may also need stronger data literacy, change management capabilities and the ability to work effectively with AI-enabled tools.

That distinction matters. Without it, organizations can end up responding to every emerging trend with another training program rather than addressing the capabilities that are genuinely important to the business.

A structured skills assessment can also support workforce planning and succession planning by showing where critical capabilities already exist and where further development is needed through expert talent acquisition strategy

Look beyond traditional hiring requirements

What if some of the skills your organization needs already exist outside the usual candidate pool?

Skills-based hiring can help answer that question by shifting the focus from traditional requirements such as degrees, job titles and direct industry experience toward demonstrated skills and transferable capabilities.

This can be particularly valuable for mid-market organizations competing with larger employers for specialized talent.

A candidate may not have direct experience in a particular industry but could have strong analytical, technical or problem-solving capabilities. With the right development support, those skills may translate effectively into a new role.

It also creates a stronger connection between talent acquisition and upskilling. Hiring does not always have to mean finding someone who already has every required capability. In some cases, it means identifying people with the right foundation and creating a path for them to develop.

Make better use of the talent you already have

External hiring is only one way to address a skills shortage.

Organizations may already have employees with the experience, skills or potential to move into roles where demand is growing. The challenge is identifying those employees and giving them a realistic path to make that move.

Internal mobility can help organizations put existing talent to better use.

Talent consulting can support skills mapping, identify adjacent capabilities and help build career pathways around future workforce requirements. An employee with strong project management experience, for example, may have the foundation to move into a role that requires additional digital or technical capabilities.

A stronger internal mobility strategy can also support retention. When employees can see how their current capabilities can lead to future opportunities, they have a clearer reason to build their careers within the organization.

Organizations can track measures such as internal fill rates, internal time-to-fill and retention following an internal move to understand whether these efforts are delivering results.

Use AI to make learning more relevant

AI is changing both the skills employees need and the way organizations can deliver learning.

AI-enabled learning platforms can use information about an employee’s role, current capabilities and development needs to recommend relevant content. They can also help personalize learning pathways and track progress.

But technology alone does not create an effective upskilling strategy.

The organization first needs to understand which capabilities it is trying to build. Without that foundation, AI can simply make it easier to deliver more training without making that training more relevant.

Talent consulting can help connect learning technology with the organization’s broader skills strategy so development remains focused on real workforce requirements.

For L&D teams, this can reduce some of the manual work involved in assigning and tracking learning. For employees, it can create development pathways that are more closely aligned with their roles and career goals.

Build future talent earlier

Upskilling does not have to start with the existing workforce.

Early careers programs can give organizations another way to build the capabilities they will need in the future. Graduates and entry-level employees can develop through structured training, mentoring, rotations and practical experience.

This can be particularly useful for mid-market organizations that find it difficult to attract experienced talent in competitive skills markets.

Instead of competing for a limited pool of candidates who already have every required skill, organizations can develop people around their own business needs.

There is also a longer-term benefit. Early careers programs can create a pipeline of talent that understands the organization and develops capabilities aligned with its future direction.

AMS provides early careers services that combine recruitment, technology and development support to help organizations build these talent pipelines.

Prepare for digital and green skills

The skills landscape is changing quickly. Digital capabilities such as AI literacy, data analysis, cloud technologies and cybersecurity are becoming increasingly important across industries. At the same time, organizations are developing new requirements around sustainability and green skills.

The challenge is deciding which emerging capabilities actually matter to the business.

A talent consulting approach can help organizations assess emerging skills against their own strategy rather than simply following broader market trends. A financial services organization, for example, may have very different priorities from a manufacturer or healthcare organization.

That makes prioritization essential.

Rather than trying to develop every emerging skill across the workforce, organizations can focus investment on capabilities most likely to influence growth, productivity, transformation or regulatory readiness.

Build development around a multigenerational workforce

Today’s workforce can include people at very different stages of their careers. A recent graduate and an experienced professional may have very different development needs.

So should they follow the same learning model?

Not necessarily.

A multigenerational workforce strategy can combine different learning formats, mentoring, career pathways and knowledge-sharing opportunities to support employees across career stages.

There is a business benefit as well. Experienced employees often hold valuable institutional knowledge that can be difficult to replace when they leave. Creating opportunities for knowledge transfer can help preserve that expertise while giving newer employees access to practical experience.

Development can work in both directions. Experienced employees can build new digital capabilities while sharing industry knowledge with employees earlier in their careers.

How can organizations measure whether upskilling is working?

Training completion rates tell only part of the story.

The more useful question is whether the organization is building capabilities that improve workforce and business outcomes.

Before launching an upskilling program, organizations can establish a baseline for measures such as productivity, retention, internal mobility, time-to-competency and internal promotion rates. These measures can then be compared with changes in skills assessments and workforce performance.

Depending on the organization’s goals, useful indicators may include:

More roles being filled internally
Lower turnover and replacement costs
Faster time-to-competency
Improved productivity
Greater movement into critical skill areas
Reduced reliance on external hiring for specific capabilities

The right measurement framework will depend on the organization’s priorities. What matters is connecting learning activity to an outcome the business actually values.

Which skills should mid-market organizations prioritize?

There is no single skills list that will work for every organization. Priorities should reflect the company’s industry, business strategy and future workforce requirements.

However, several areas are becoming increasingly relevant:

Digital fluency: AI literacy, data analysis and digital collaboration

Technical capabilities: Cloud, cybersecurity, automation and role-specific expertise

Adaptability: Problem-solving, critical thinking and learning agility

Leadership: Coaching, change management and leading evolving teams

Sustainability: ESG knowledge and green skills relevant to the business

The objective is not to train employees for every skill appearing on a future-of-work list. It is to identify the capabilities that can make a measurable difference to the organization’s future.

Where does talent consulting fit?

Upskilling becomes harder when skills assessment, recruitment, learning and workforce planning operate separately.

Talent consulting can bring these areas together.

A consulting partner can help an organization understand its current capabilities, identify future requirements and determine where it makes sense to build, buy or develop skills internally.

For mid-market organizations, this outside perspective can be particularly useful when internal teams do not have the time or specialist resources to conduct a detailed workforce skills assessment themselves.

AMS brings expertise across talent strategy, skills-based approaches, internal mobility, early careers and workforce development. The objective is to connect these areas rather than treat each one as a separate HR initiative.

FAQs

What is talent consulting for upskilling?

Talent consulting for upskilling helps organizations identify capability gaps, understand future skills requirements and develop strategies to build those capabilities. It can connect skills analysis, workforce planning, internal mobility, hiring and learning with business priorities.

How can mid-market organizations improve their upskilling strategy?

Start by identifying the skills most important to business goals. Then assess current capabilities and determine which skills can be developed internally and where external hiring or other talent strategies may be needed.

How do you measure the ROI of upskilling?

Organizations can measure outcomes such as productivity, retention, internal mobility, time-to-competency, internal fill rates and hiring costs. The most useful metrics will depend on the specific objectives of the upskilling program.

Why is skills-based hiring important for upskilling?

Skills-based hiring allows organizations to assess candidates based on demonstrated capabilities and transferable skills rather than relying only on traditional qualifications or industry experience. This can expand talent pools and create more opportunities to develop people after hiring.

Summary

Upskilling is about building the capabilities the business needs not simply providing more training. For mid-market organizations, talent consulting can connect skills gaps, internal talent, hiring and workforce development to business priorities.

Explore AMS Talent Consulting to build a more focused approach to workforce development.

About AMS

AMS powers talent strategies that deliver results, redefining a new era of talent driven by people, process, data and technology.

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