The go-to career development efforts used by employers today are leadership training (71%) and sharing internal job postings (59%) according to LinkedIn Learning’s Workplace Learning Report 2025: and for good reason. Employees increasingly value both personal and professional training and development—and they’ll stay with employers that provide them with these opportunities.
It’s a win-win proposition. Employers benefit from a more well-educated and well-rounded workforce, and employees benefit from skill development and opportunities for career advancement.
“We sponsor a wide range of learning opportunities—from role-specific certifications to leadership training and language learning,” says Katherine Loranger, Chief People Officer at Safeguard Global. “If it supports an employee’s growth and helps us meet business goals, we consider it worth investing in.”
Here we take a look at how employers are leveraging employee development and education efforts to build a stronger and more loyal workforce.
Determining What to Sponsor
It’s not just employers and managers who find and recommend training opportunities for employees. Increasingly, employees themselves are being proactive in identifying opportunities—and asking employers to support them in terms of both funding and time for participation.
“At FieldCircle, we’re open to sponsoring anything that directly helps an employee grow in their current role, or in the direction the company is heading,” explains Yogesh Choudhary, CEO and co-founder. “That can mean certifications like AWS for engineers, technical bootcamps, leadership training, or even communication workshops.”
Jon Hill, CEO and chairman of The Energists, takes a more individualized approach: “I consider a range of factors, including how much it will cost, the employee’s history with the organization, and how this education could allow the employee to perform their role more effectively or take on additional responsibilities they don’t currently handle,” he says.
The most successful programs align educational investments with both business priorities and employee career trajectories. Sarah Williams, Founder and Principal at Recruit Healthcare, uses four key factors to make decisions about which learning opportunities to support:
- Relevance to the employee’s current role—or a realistic next step.
- Length of service.
- Cost-to-benefit ratio. “Shorter, focused programs with obvious ROI tend to get approved more readily,” Williams says.
- Retention risk.
It’s important, today’s companies understand, to support employees as much as possible in their growth and development needs. Doing so requires objective criteria to make sound decisions that are consistent across the organization.
Creating Clear Criteria
Establishing transparent, consistent guidelines helps both managers and employees navigate education requests effectively.
“We keep the process clear and human,” says Loranger. “Employees are encouraged to connect their development requests to their performance goals or future career paths.”
According to Dr. Cali Morrison, Senior Director of Workforce Education Strategy at EdAssist by Bright Horizons, identifying which employees are primed for growth requires both science and art—”science to objectively identify tacit skill sets and art to help rising leaders see how to apply those skills to the job at hand.”
Many companies have formalized these processes. Matt Erhard, Managing Partner at Summit Search Group, notes: “The companies that handle this the best usually have some formal process in place, like a tuition reimbursement policy or a simple request form. Even if the budget isn’t huge, having a structure in place makes it more likely that employees will take advantage of it.”
Choudhary’s approach at FieldCircle emphasizes clarity: “We ask employees to show how the course or certification will help them solve a current business problem, level up their role, or contribute to long-term goals. We also ask that they share a short summary of key learnings afterward, so the knowledge gets shared and not siloed.”
Budget Considerations
Financial constraints are inevitable, but companies approach budgeting for education in various ways.
“The cost needs to be directly proportional to the potential value I see the education bringing to our team,” explains Hill. “The more the training costs, the more critical it is for me to see that clear value return before I agree to sponsor it.”
At FieldCircle, Choudhary has established a systematic approach: “We typically set an annual learning and development budget per employee, and anything under that doesn’t need multiple approvals. If something’s pricier, we look at ROI. Can they teach others, reduce outside vendor dependency, or improve KPIs?”
The Compt 2025 Lifestyle Benefits Benchmark Report shows that professional development stipends typically range from $100 to $2,000 per employee per year, with an average of $1,140. This investment has grown in importance, with spending on professional development increasing from 13.3% to 15% of non-taxable benefits from 2023 to 2024.
Making it Mutually Beneficial
The most effective education sponsorship programs create advantages for both the organization and employees.
“It’s a balance of relevance, timing, and potential impact,” explains Loranger. “If a learning opportunity helps an employee contribute at a higher level—whether in their current role or a future one—it’s usually a green light.”
Morrison points out that these investments can specifically address skill gaps required for the evolving workplace: “Our EdAssist Education Index showed that 99% of GenZ workers are interested in developing new skills or pursuing additional education,” Morrison says. “As an organization looking to grow your talent from the inside, this is a perfect opportunity to highlight using career pathways or targeted programs.”
Driving Value
By approaching education and certification support as strategic investments rather than mere perks, organizations can build more capable, engaged, and loyal workforces while strengthening their competitive positions.
As Williams says, “The companies that handle this the best usually have some formal process in place.” This is especially important in healthcare, she notes. “where keeping good people engaged is often the biggest challenge of all.” Certainly, that’s a sentiment shared across industries—after all, strategic education support isn’t just about building skills; it’s about building commitment.
Employees also need to play an active and proactive role in their own development.
Karen Niovitch Davis, partner and CHRO at Prosek Partners, for instance, stresses the importance of employee initiative. “Customizing a career isn’t just the company’s responsibility. It’s important for employees to think about what they really want from their experience and be proactive about managing their careers.” Employees need to come forward with well thought out proposals “that not only outline the opportunity for them, but the ROI for the firm and its clients.”
Hill echoes this advice: “Be ready to make a clear case for how this additional education will allow you to add more value to the company,” he advises. “This could be because it will enhance your performance in your current role, or as preparation to take on a more complex role or additional responsibilities.”
Especially in an environment where competition is fierce and increasingly global, and technological advancements are rampant, employers have much to gain by strategically supporting employee growth and development.