The State of Learning and Readiness: B-Sides

The State of Learning and Readiness: B-Sides is a companion report for business and learning leaders responsible for building and sustaining skills at scale. Drawing on survey data of employed U.S. adults, the report examines where readiness breaks down across learning systems, and how clearer skill alignment, access to opportunity, and measurable outcomes can translate learning demand into real performance, progression, and organizational momentum.

Measuring what moves readiness forward

As workforce expectations continue to shift, organizations face growing pressure to ensure learning translates into real outcomes. The State of Learning and Readiness: B-Sides examines readiness through an organizational lens, highlighting how skill clarity, access to learning, and opportunity shape performance and progression at scale.

In this report, you’ll discover:

Where readiness breaks down across learning systems, from stalled momentum to limited access and unclear pathways
How workers perceive skills, credentials, and career signals, and where misalignment creates friction
What the data reveals about learning demand, uncertainty, and progression, and why readiness has become a systems-level challenge