Hybrid working and workforce planning: the changing challenge of developing skills

Hybrid working has become an established feature of the UK labour market, changing not only where people work but also how organisations develop and retain capability.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), 28% of working adults in Great Britain were hybrid working between January and March 2025. The proportion has gradually increased since 2022, while the number working exclusively from their usual place of work has declined.

Hybrid working is also unevenly distributed. Workers with a degree or equivalent qualification were ten times more likely to work in a hybrid pattern than those with no qualifications. Higher-income workers were also more likely to have access to hybrid working.

These differences have implications for workforce development. The shift towards hybrid working changes the environment in which skills, knowledge and experience are developed and transferred.

The changing nature of workplace learning

Formal training has adapted relatively quickly to more distributed working patterns. The 2024 Employer Skills Survey found that 70% of employers that provided training had funded or arranged online training or e-learning for their staff, compared with 51% in 2017.

However, workforce development extends beyond formal training. Much organisational knowledge is acquired through observation, collaboration, coaching and informal interaction with more experienced colleagues.

This creates particular considerations for hybrid workforces. Employees who spend less time alongside colleagues may have fewer opportunities for informal learning, mentoring and exposure to different areas of the organisation. This can be particularly significant for early-career employees developing professional networks and practical experience.

Implications for strategic workforce planning

The changing working environment means that workforce planning needs to consider not only which skills an organisation will require, but also how those skills will be developed.

Future capability may need to be built through a combination of formal learning, coaching, mentoring, internal mobility and on-the-job experience. Organisations also need to consider whether different employee groups have equitable access to these opportunities.

This becomes particularly important when workforce plans identify emerging skills gaps. Recruitment may provide one solution, but developing existing employees can improve retention, reduce recruitment costs and preserve organisational knowledge.

The physical location of work therefore becomes a relevant workforce-planning consideration. A workforce strategy that assumes skills will develop organically through workplace interaction may no longer reflect how many employees actually work.

Building capability into the future workforce

Hybrid working does not necessarily reduce opportunities for learning and development. It does, however, require organisations to be more deliberate about how capability is created and transferred.

For strategic workforce planning, this means connecting future skills requirements with the mechanisms through which those skills will be developed. Training, internal mobility, management capability and knowledge transfer all form part of the workforce plan.

As hybrid working continues to shape the UK workforce, organisations that understand not only what capabilities they need, but also how those capabilities will be built, shared and retained, will be better positioned to meet their future strategic objectives.