4 secrets to making effective learning paths for IT

When you’re developing upskilling for IT professionals, outdated, inaccurate, or irrelevant information can turn learning tech skills into an uphill battle.

Avoid these challenges and streamline learning with curated learning paths that ensure teams focus on the right skills at the right time. 

Colton Mouritsen, Senior Revenue Strategy & Analytics Manager at Pluralsight, has spent the last four and a half years designing learning paths for hundreds of customers’ needs across industries like banking, telecommunications, and government.  

Here are his tips for creating effective curated learning paths for IT teams.

The first and most important step is to begin with the end in mind. Learning isn't a one-size-fits-all solution. Different roles, skill levels, and business goals require different approaches. Before you even think about what content to include, you need to understand what problem you’re trying to solve.

Ask yourself:

• What are our strategic initiatives?

• What skills will we need to accomplish them?

• How is technology changing our industry, and how can we proactively develop the necessary skills?

By answering these questions, you ensure learning paths are relevant and directly tied to your business objectives. 

“A curated learning path shows your team that you value their time,” says Colton. “You aren't asking an experienced cloud engineer to sit through an introductory course on AWS. Instead, they can jump right into specialized topics, get the skills they need, and get back to work. This focused approach makes learning more efficient and directly applicable to their day-to-day work.”

Once you know what skills you need to build, it's time to begin mapping your content. A great learning path includes a variety of content types to keep learners engaged and cater to different learning styles.

Assessments are a great way to start. An initial assessment helps you baseline a learner's current knowledge and a final assessment allows you to measure progress and prove the value of the training.

Hands-on labs are especially crucial. Many people learn best by doing, not just by watching or listening. Providing opportunities for hands-on practice helps learners solidify their skills and build confidence.

“A variety of media and real world examples from other organizations is also key. This could include videos, articles, interactive exercises, and even peer discussions. The goal is to create a dynamic and engaging experience and help learners see what they are learning in action,” explains Colton.

Uncover more upskilling strategies to align skill development with business goals. Get the Tech Upskilling Playbook.

If a learning path is too long, learners often feel discouraged before they even begin. A truly curated path isn't a massive collection of every single piece of content on a topic. It's a focused, efficient guide.

Because learning goals and timelines differ for everyone, it’s difficult to nail down a specific length every learning path should follow. Instead, focus on core skills to keep your learning paths under control. 

“We set a goal to keep the number of core skills at no more than ten for a given role. These are the topics that are most relevant and immediately applicable to a role or team,” says Colton.

Fringe or supplementary skills can be addressed later as needed, but for a learning path to be effective, it must respect a learner’s time. By focusing on what's most important, you ensure that learners get the best return on their time and energy investment.

Between hallucinations, artificial metrics, and the risk of skill decay, you may be hesitant to use AI for learning. But as long as you adopt it strategically, it can be a powerful tool that dramatically improves how your people learn.

For one thing, AI can help analyze skill gaps across an entire organization. It can also surface emerging skill trends, recommend the right learning paths for specific teams, and even predict which skills will be needed in the future. This allows you to be proactive about your talent strategy and ensure your organization is ready for what's next.

For your learners, AI can create truly personalized learning paths at scale. 

“Imagine an AI tutor that adapts to your learning style, suggests content based on your progress, and provides instant, personalized feedback,” says Colton. “This kind of dynamic learning journey keeps them engaged and on the right track. I’ve often leveraged AI to build me a deck of flashcards or create a specific use-case problem to solve that helps me apply what I’ve learned and test my knowledge.”

Learn more about how AI will change the future of learning.

Curated learning paths act as a GPS for your team's professional development, guiding them to acquire the right skills at the right time. 

By starting with a clear objective, using a variety of content, focusing on core skills, and leveraging the power of AI, you can build a learning strategy that truly sets your team up for success.

Learn more about curated learning paths for tech skills with Pluralsight.