2025 Global Learning & Skills Trends Report

Read the trends and dive into the data.

Teams are prioritizing GenAI-powered productivity, collaboration, and sustainability

The age of generative AI in the workplace has truly arrived. GenAI for productivity outpaced almost all other business topics, topping the list for the fastest growing learning topic and coming in second on the list of the most consumed learning hours across all business skills.

Project management planning, frameworks, and certifications that help teams execute on complex projects represent another trending area. Project Management Institute (PMI) and Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) are key types of certification that support this trend.

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and sustainable development topics are seeing surges in consumption, indicating that long-term viability and ethical governance are growing in importance.

Top 10 surging business skills

Ranked by increase in consumption

% increase

GenAI for productivity 859%
Supply chain analytics 277%
Root cause analysis 228%
Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) 179%
Sustainable development 170%
Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) certification 160%
Project planning 159%
IIBA Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP) 140%
Management accounting 136%
Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) 128%

Top 10 consumed business skills

Ranked by total consumption

Rank

Microsoft Excel tools 1
GenAI for productivity 2
Business English 3
Project Management Institute (PMI) certifications 4
Communication skills 5
Foundational project management 6
Foundational leadership 7
Digital transformation 8
Agile 9
Presentation skills 10

Optimizing operations for sustainable, long-term success

In today’s dynamic business environment, process improvement and supply chain efficiency are foundational. Lean Six Sigma certifications, quality management techniques, and process mapping methodologies collectively drive efficiency and excellence. Integrating risk and reliability management with ESG practices fosters sustainability and resilience. These interconnected domains empower organizations to optimize performance, enhance decision-making, and prioritize long-term success.

Top 10 surging skills: Business operations excellence

Ranked by increase in consumption

% increase

Supply chain analytics 277%
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) 179%
Sustainable development 170%
IIBA Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP) 140%
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) 121%
Logistics management 118%
Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt Certification 96%
Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) 88%
Manufacturing 88%
Reliability engineering 81%

Top 10 consumed skills: Business operations excellence

Ranked by total consumption

Rank

Business analysis 1
SAP Materials Management (SAP MM) 2
Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification 3
Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt Certification 4
Supply chain 5
Lean Six Sigma White Belt Certification 6
SAP Production Planning (SAP PP) 7
Quality management 8
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) 9
Process mapping 10

Communication skills to navigate complexity

Employees are developing effective communication skills that enable them to successfully manage diverse business scenarios. With a clear understanding that communication is essential for professional growth, they are integrating business communication, verbal and written skills, and presentation techniques. There is a strong focus on customer relationship management, including tailoring communication to create strong customer relationships, enhance satisfaction, and build loyalty.

Top 4 surging skills: Communication excellence*

Ranked by increase in consumption

% increase

Business communication 41%
Communication for customer relationship management 38%
Communication skills 16%
Presentation skills 15%

Top 6 consumed skills: Communication excellence*

Ranked by total consumption

Rank

Communication skills 1
Presentation skills 2
Business communication 3
Communication for customer relationship management 4
Contract negotiation 5
Promotional video 6

*Four skills in the communication category saw positive surging consumption and six skills in the category saw positive overall consumption during the July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, time frame, as compared to the prior year.

Focusing on financial oversight and efficiency

Improving corporate financial management helps guide strategic business decisions and long-term plans, while skills in regulatory compliance ensure that business practices remain transparent and meet global standards. Specialized areas such as internal auditing and certifications like CIA, along with SAP FICO and S/4HANA expertise, further enhance financial oversight and operational efficiency.

Top 10 surging skills: Finance & accounting excellence

Ranked by increase in consumption

% increase

Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) 160%
Management accounting 136%
Company valuation 97%
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) 81%
Cost accounting 74%
Payments 69%
Payroll accounting 68%
Internal auditing 67%
Uniform CPA examination 62%
Financial management 60%

Top 10 consumed skills: Finance & accounting excellence

Ranked by total consumption

Rank

Financial analysis 1
SAP FICO 2
SAP S/4HANA 3
Foundational accounting 4
Corporate finance 5
Financial accounting 6
Financial modeling 7
Foundational finance topics 8
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) 9
Technical financial analysis 10

Global language learning streamlines global business

In the current global business environment, language learning and proficiency promote cross-cultural communication. Practical application in business ensures these skills are effective in negotiations, presentations, and customer interactions. While competence in Business English remains paramount, with a focus on pronunciation and preparation for proficiency exams, employees are also engaging with a variety of other languages.

Top 10 surging skills: Language learning excellence

Ranked by increase in consumption

% increase

Japanese language 106%
PTE (Pearson Test of English) Academic proficiency test 73%
Mandarin Chinese language 68%
French language 62%
Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam 58%
Korean language 56%
English pronunciation 48%
Business English 46%
German language 46%
Italian language 45%

Top 10 consumed skills: Language learning excellence

Ranked by total consumption

Rank

Business English 1
French language 2
German language 3
English pronunciation 4
Japanese language 5
Korean language 6
Mandarin Chinese language 7
Italian language 8
Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam 9
Arabic language 10

Skills to lead through today’s business challenges

Effective leaders are more essential than ever to manage people, resources, and projects efficiently during a period of rapid and sometimes disruptive change. Skills like root cause analysis and critical thinking, combined with approaches such as design thinking, empower leaders to navigate complex business challenges. Fostering a culture of innovation, encompassing capabilities from team building to employee engagement, is vital for creating motivated, collaborative, and high-performing teams.

Top 10 surging skills: Leadership & management excellence

Ranked by increase in consumption

% increase

Root cause analysis 228%
Behavioral economics 131%
Problem solving 103%
Employee engagement 83%
Team building 79%
Foundational business proposal 71%
Business strategy 64%
Soft skills 57%
Motivation principles 49%
Teamwork principles 42%

Top 10 consumed skills: Leadership & management excellence

Ranked by total consumption

Rank

Foundational leadership 1
Digital transformation 2
Business strategy 3
Management skills 4
Emotional intelligence 5
Design thinking 6
Effective meeting strategy 7
Listening skills 8
Critical thinking 9
Industry 4.0 10

Maximizing marketing impact through digital and social media

Businesses are stepping up digital marketing efforts, producing personalized campaigns to reach targeted audiences more effectively. Marketing analytics offer insights to ensure marketing budgets are used efficiently, while programmatic advertising uses automated algorithms to buy and sell digital ad space. Through social media marketing, especially through video channels like YouTube and TikTok, corporations are seeking to expand audience reach and engagement.

Top 10 surging skills: Marketing excellence

Ranked by increase in consumption

% increase

Market research 84%
Programmatic advertising 46%
YouTube marketing 30%
E-commerce 21%
PPC advertising 21%
Google Tag Manager 14%
Marketing analytics 14%
TikTok marketing 12%
SEO 11%
Social media marketing 10%

Top 10 consumed skills: Marketing excellence

Ranked by total consumption

Rank

Digital marketing 1
Marketing strategy 2
Social media marketing 3
Marketing analytics 4
Writing 5
SEO 6
Google Ads 7
Growth hacking 8
YouTube marketing 9
Market research 10

GenAI and Microsoft apps are top areas for productivity

In the last year, many have looked to integrate GenAI into everyday work processes, producing a surge in GenAI skills for productivity and prompt engineering. The broad reach of the many Microsoft apps simplifies and reduces the number of internal tools and vendor relationships, making this platform a significant draw for many organizations. There is attention to the human side of productivity as well, with employees exploring time and stress management, while also seeking to develop their careers.

Top 10 surging skills: Productivity excellence

Ranked by increase in consumption

% increase

GenAI for productivity 859%
Google AppSheet 97%
Career development 70%
Microsoft OneNote 58%
Microsoft Teams 40%
Microsoft Power Platform Fundamentals (PL-900) certification 36%
Microsoft Power Platform 30%
Time management 14%
Microsoft Excel tools 10%
Stress management 2%

Top 10 consumed skills: Productivity excellence

Ranked by total consumption

Rank

Microsoft Excel tools 1
GenAI for productivity 2
Microsoft Power Platform 3
Prompt engineering 4
Time management 5
Microsoft Teams 6
Stress management 7
Career development 8
Microsoft Power Platform Fundamentals (PL-900) certification 9
Microsoft OneNote 10

Improving collaboration through PMI, Scrum, and Agile certifications

Agile and scrum methodologies continue to gain traction as they promote flexibility, rapid iteration, and customer-centric development, allowing teams to adapt to changing requirements and deliver incremental value. Certifications in project and product management continue to see rapid growth, with the Project Management Institute (PMI) and the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) leading the field.

Top 10 surging skills: Project & product management excellence

Ranked by increase in consumption

% increase

Project planning 159%
Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) 128%
monday.com software 111%
Program management 109%
Product development 71%
Project Management Institute (PMI) certifications 47%
Professional Scrum Product Owner (PSPO) certification 35%
Product management 25%
Project scheduling 17%
Smartsheet 16%

Top 10 consumed skills: Project & product management excellence

Ranked by total consumption

Rank

Project Management Institute (PMI) certifications 1
Foundational project management 2
Agile 3
Scrum 4
Product management 5
Jira software 6
Professional Scrum Master (PSM) certification 7
Confluence 8
Microsoft Project 9
Project risk management 10

Keeping customers happy while winning new ones

Fundamental sales and customer service techniques are essential in the present competitive market as businesses look to expand their customer base. There is an emphasis on the value of not only attracting new customers but also retaining satisfied customers. Salesforce and SAP tools amplify these efforts by streamlining sales processes and providing in-depth analytics.

Top 10 surging skills: Sales & customer service excellence

Ranked by increase in consumption

% increase

Customer service 86%
Account management 59%
Negotiation 49%
Retail business 43%
Sales management 42%
Foundational sales topics 31%
Customer success management 25%
B2B sales 13%
Business development 10%
Salesforce software 9%

Top 10 consumed skills: Sales & customer service excellence

Ranked by total consumption

Rank

Customer service 1
Salesforce software 2
Foundational sales topics 3
SAP Sales and Distribution (SAP SD) 4
Negotiation 5
Customer success management 6
Retail business 7
B2B sales 8
Prospecting and lead generation 9
Sales management 10

Talent management is top of mind for HR

Equipping HR professionals with essential knowledge and certifications ensures they are well-versed in key talent management areas, such as recruiting, hiring, and employee onboarding. With these skills, HR teams can attract top talent and manage the employee lifecycle proficiently. A strong culture of corporate learning and development ensures that employees continually upgrade their skills, aligning their growth with organizational objectives and fostering continuous improvement.

Top 6 surging skills: Workplace & human resources excellence*

Ranked by increase in consumption

% increase

Workplace health & safety 99%
Foundational HR topics 62%
HR analytics 59%
Corporate learning & development 20%
Interviewing skills 6%
Talent management 5%

Top 10 consumed skills: Workplace & human resources excellence

Ranked by total consumption

Rank

Foundational HR topics 1
Corporate learning & development 2
Interviewing skills 3
Recruiting and hiring 4
Workplace health and safety 5
HR analytics 6
Talent management 7
Human resources certification 8
Employee onboarding 9
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) 10

* Six skills in the workplace & human resources skills category saw positive surging consumption during the July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, time frame, as compared to the prior year.

Driving innovation with AI and cloud skills, with an eye on security

Driving innovation in today’s business world requires integrating AI and machine learning into products and processes.

The LangChain framework, which allows the integration of large language models (LLMs) and natural language processing (NLP) into applications, is growing faster than any other technical topic. Foundational AI skills and Microsoft Azure AI certification preparation also rank high on the list. Python, long a top consumed programming language on Udemy, is used in AI and machine learning development as well.

Among other trends, businesses are investing in cybersecurity and IT performance management to protect data and applications from growing threats, while also seeking to efficiently deploy and manage cloud-based solutions on platforms like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Azure.

Top 10 surging technical skills

Ranked by increase in consumption

% increase

LangChain 3,949%
Dynatrace 520%
Palo Alto Firewall 500%
Microsoft Azure AI Engineer Associate (AI-102) certification 311%
Artificial intelligence (AI) 291%
Firebase 279%
FinOps 235%
Databricks Certified Data Engineer Associate 233%
Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop Specialty (AZ-140) certification 200%
Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-900) certification 197%

Top 10 consumed technical skills

Ranked by total consumption

Rank

Python 1
Java 2
Amazon Web Services (AWS) 3
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner 4
AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate 5
React 6
Microsoft Power BI 7
JavaScript 8
SQL 9
Selenium WebDriver 10

Prepping cloud certifications to build scalable business solutions

As in other areas, AI is of growing importance for cloud computing, with Microsoft Azure AI certification preparation seeing the greatest surge in learning. Employees are preparing for certifications that prove proficiency in skills businesses need to leverage cloud infrastructure. With certifications in top platforms like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Azure, employees can springboard their careers while developing cloud skills to build scalable, intelligent solutions and automate data transformations.

Top 10 surging skills: Cloud computing excellence

Ranked by increase in consumption

% increase

Microsoft Azure AI Engineer Associate (AI-102) certification 311%
Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-900) certification 197%
Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) 46%
AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK) 44%
Azure Data Factory 28%
AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional 16%
AWS Step Functions 14%
AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional 13%
Amazon EC2 9%
AWS CodePipeline 8%

Top 10 consumed skills: Cloud computing excellence

Ranked by total consumption

Rank

Amazon Web Services (AWS) 1
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner 2
AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate 3
Microsoft Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) certification 4
AWS Certified Developer – Associate 5
Microsoft Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104) certification 6
Microsoft Azure 7
Google Cloud Associate Cloud Engineer certification 8
AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional 9
Microsoft Azure Data Engineer Associate (DP-203) certification 10

Cybersecurity works on many levels to keep data safe

As cybersecurity attacks accelerate, businesses must implement comprehensive data security practices while complying with data protection regulations. Security is integrated into the software development lifecycle through DevSecOps while cybersecurity professionals are equipping themselves with advanced threat detection skills. Proactive identification of vulnerabilities through ethical hacking and bug bounty programs is gaining traction. Human factors remain a significant vulnerability, and building policies and educating employees to defend against attacks is critical.

Top 10 surging skills: Cybersecurity excellence

Ranked by increase in consumption

% increase

ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) 174%
Bug bounty 72%
Data security 70%
Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) 69%
Web application security 66%
IT governance 65%
CompTIA Security+ certification 62%
DevSecOps 53%
Digital forensics 52%
Cybersecurity social engineering 52%

Top 10 consumed skills: Cybersecurity excellence

Ranked by total consumption

Rank

Foundational information security 1
Foundational cybersecurity 2
CompTIA Security+ certification 3
Ethical hacking 4
Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) 5
CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+) certification 6
Spring Security 7
AWS Certified Security – Specialty 8
ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) 9
ISO/IEC 27001 10

Data science is evolving from modeling to presentation

The rise of automated machine learning (AutoML) and advanced AI platforms is transforming data science, streamlining model creation and deployment. Data engineering has become a cornerstone in order to create and maintain scalable data pipelines, with accurate data preprocessing and wrangling as essential pipeline steps. To drive actionable insights, data visualization and BI tools are more important than ever, and data modeling and data analysis skills help professionals present their findings clearly and effectively.

Top 10 surging skills: Data science excellence

Ranked by increase in consumption

% increase

Data wrangling 192%
Data preprocessing 153%
Snowflake SnowPro Core Certification 147%
Google Cloud Vertex AI 120%
dbt (Data Build Tool) 88%
Deep learning 84%
Data engineering 83%
Databricks 79%
NumPy 72%
Reinforcement learning 65%

Top 10 consumed skills: Data science excellence

Ranked by total consumption

Rank

Microsoft Power BI 1
Foundational data science 2
Machine learning 3
Data analysis 4
Data modeling 5
Tableau 6
Deep learning 7
Statistics 8
Databricks 9
Snowflake 10

Design is ultimately focused on the user

A product’s success ultimately hinges on whether it is effective for its user. When it comes to creating physical products, skills in computer-aided design tools like CATIA and Ansys and standards like GD&T are surging. Professional design and video production tools are equally important for conveying information in compelling and meaningful ways, including Midjourney for GenAI image generation and a number of popular video, graphic, and web design solutions.

Top 10 surging skills: Design excellence

Ranked by increase in consumption

% increase

Geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) 123%
Computer aided three-dimensional interactive application (CATIA) 121%
Ansys 106%
Color theory 91%
Video production 86%
3D printing 81%
Canva 79%
Midjourney 65%
Figma 56%
Revit 48%

Top 10 consumed skills: Design excellence

Ranked by total consumption

Rank

Web design 1
Graphic design 2
Figma 3
Blender 4
Adobe Photoshop 5
Adobe Illustrator 6
3D modeling 7
Video editing 8
User interface design 9
Adobe After Effects 10

Leveraging large language models to develop interactive apps

The integration of AI and large language models (LLMs) into applications is a significant trend, with topics such as LangChain and chatbot development highlighting the move to more intelligent and interactive applications. Skills to develop scalable, resilient cloud-native applications are also in demand, as are the capabilities to use mobile app development tools and app performance monitoring capabilities.

Top 10 surging skills: Development excellence

Ranked by increase in consumption

% increase

LangChain 3,949%
Dynatrace 520%
Firebase 279%
AWS databases 197%
Generic programming 189%
Microsoft Playwright 148%
Redux 137%
Certified Associate in Python Programming (PCAP) 135%
Chatbot 116%
Azure Functions 115%

Top 10 consumed skills: Development excellence

Ranked by total consumption

Rank

Python 1
Java 2
React 3
JavaScript 4
SQL 5
Selenium WebDriver 6
Angular 7
Spring Framework 8
Spring Boot 9
Kubernetes 10

AI advances are driving business innovation

Through technologies like ChatGPT and LangChain, generative AI is transforming how businesses automate and enhance multiple processes using advanced conversational agents and content generation. Natural language processing (NLP) underpins these innovations, enabling AI to understand and generate human-like text, thereby improving communication and engagement.

Machine learning and deep learning continue to be foundational elements for AI advances, driving the development of sophisticated models capable of learning complex patterns and making predictive decisions. These are essential for a wide range of business applications, from personalized recommendations to advanced analytics.

The popularity of GitHub Copilot and Microsoft Copilot highlights the integration of AI into development workflows to assist in coding and boost productivity.

Top 10 consumed skills: Artificial intelligence (AI)*

Ranked by total consumption

Rank

ChatGPT & Generative AI 1
Prompt engineering 2
LangChain 3
Machine learning 4
Deep learning 5
OpenAI API 6
Model deployment & MLOps 7
GitHub Copilot 8
Natural language processing (NLP) 9
Microsoft Copilot 10

* AI topics are ranked by total consumption, or the total increase in consumption hours of the topic in the post-period (July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024) compared to the pre-period (July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023), measured in absolute numbers.

Certifications are the ultimate form of skills validation

Certifications ensure leaders that teams possess up-to-date knowledge and expertise in key areas, allowing them to use the technologies and methodologies required to innovate and collaborate effectively. Employees can take significant steps forward on their career paths with certifications that validate valuable knowledge and demonstrate continuous improvement.

Udemy Business offers learners over 150 certification preparation topics so that they can develop and demonstrate skills mastery in the subjects most important for their organizations. This year, the greatest growth in certification prep courses took place in topics such as Microsoft Azure AI, Databricks, cybersecurity, and internal auditing.

Top 10 surging skills: Certification preparation

Ranked by increase in consumption

% increase

Microsoft Azure AI Engineer Associate (AI-102) certification 311%
Databricks Certified Data Engineer Associate 233%
Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop Specialty (AZ-140) certification 200%
Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-900) certification 197%
ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) 174%
Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) 160%
Fortinet Network Security Expert (NSE) Certification 148%
Snowflake SnowPro Core Certification 147%
IIBA Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP) 140%
Certified Associate in Python Programming (PCAP) 135%

Top 10 consumed skills: Certification preparation

Ranked by total consumption

Rank

Amazon Web Services (AWS) Certified Cloud Practitioner 1
AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate 2
Project Management Institute (PMI) certifications 3
Microsoft Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) certification 4
AWS Certified Developer – Associate 5
CompTIA A+ certification 6
Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) 7
CompTIA Security+ certification 8
Microsoft Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104) certification 9
Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) 10

For this report, we analyzed data from thousands of our customers around the world. We calculated total consumption by Udemy Business learners across all course topics for the year from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024. We calculated the percentage growth in consumption compared to the year from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023. The total consumption ranking for the AI topics is also drawn from the July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024, time period.