It’s easy to see how career development programs benefit employees — but there are surprising benefits for employers too.

According to LinkedIn’s 2025 Workplace Learning Report, organizations that are “career development champions” — organizations that embrace initiatives such as leadership training, internal job boards, mentorships, and continuing education — are outpacing nonchampions on multiple indicators of business success, including:

• Confidence to be profitable by 11 percentage points (75% vs. 64%)
• Confidence to retain talent by 17 percentage points (67% vs. 50%)
• Leading or accelerating on generative AI (GAI) adoption by 15 percentage points (51% vs. 36%)
  

These findings provide a compelling argument for why talent leaders need to highlight the importance of career development to the C-suite. As Chris Foltz, chief talent officer at IBM, says: “The more we invest in our employees learning and building their own career strategy, the more we capture that value in the future.”

Read on to learn more about how investing in employee career development boosts your bottom line.

1. Championing employee career development helps attract the candidates you need to succeed

What do organizations need to do to secure top talent? LinkedIn data points to career development.

Career development champions are more likely to have powerful employer brands that engage quality hires. According to LinkedIn’s Future of Recruiting 2025 report, companies known for offering employees the opportunity to learn new in-demand skills are 9% more likely than their peers to attract quality hires.  

A growing number of candidates — especially those who are the most valuable to employers — are prioritizing professional growth when considering jobs. A study commissioned by Amazon found that nearly nine out of 10 employees said that if they were looking for a new job, it would be important for their potential employer to offer a strong skills development program, an abundance of career growth opportunities, and ways for them to progress toward a different job or career track.

Not surprisingly, Amazon has taken the lead in employee career development, investing more than $1.2 billion in skills training, with the goal of helping workers move into high-paying, in-demand roles. Amazon’s Career Choice program offers employees a variety of education and skills training opportunities, including prepaid college tuition, pathways programs, and career coaching.

“As we strive to be ‘Earth’s best employer,’” says Jay Shankar, VP of global talent acquisition, “Amazon is breaking down barriers to education access.”

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