Level up tech upskilling with these online learning platform features

More than half (52%) of organizations give their teams access to a learning platform to help build a continuous learning culture.

But which learning platform features actually move the needle and are worth investing in? To find out, we asked 1,500 tech executives, IT professionals, and business professionals what they prioritize in online learning platforms.

In this article, we explore their priority features and determine which ones can help you close skills gaps and deliver outcomes for your business.

Want all the insights from our research? Download the Tech Skills Report.

Learning paths are the number one feature organizations prioritize in learning platforms. 

A learning path is a collection of courses, hands-on labs, and training resources a learner needs to complete to develop technical skills for a project, earn tech certifications, reach a promotion, or achieve other goals. Each path is tailored to different needs and/or skill levels.

For example, a skill-based learning path may take someone from beginner to advanced Python. A role-based learning path might provide learning resources for someone upskilling into a data scientist role.

When learners are faced with limited learning time and an overwhelming amount of content, learning paths help them cut through the noise and upskill efficiently. 

Required: Yes.

Why you need it: Learning paths personalize and streamline learning, give learners a clear way to progress, and ensure upskilling aligns with organizational goals. Basically, they’re shortcuts to personalized learning experiences that meet business needs.

What to look for: Look for learning platforms that provide pre-made learning paths for relevant roles, skills, and certs. You should also be able to create custom learning paths for your organization’s unique needs.

Learn how to create personalized learning paths for tech skills.

Anyone can sit in front of a camera and talk about tech. But they may not have industry expertise or hands-on experience to back them up. 

When you’re upskilling people to work on critical projects or with sensitive data, you need to know they’re learning accurate, trustworthy information to protect your business and your customers.

Required: Yes.

Why you need it: Tech changes fast, which means learning content can quickly become obsolete. Learning content from vetted pros ensures your team learns accurate, up-to-date information they can apply immediately. Trust and credibility are the key words.

What to look for: Look for platforms that prioritize learning content from industry experts with real experience and credentials. Ask vendors about their author requirements and vetting process.

While robust, comprehensive courses help learners really understand a subject, most people don’t have hours at a time they can dedicate to learning.

Short-form content breaks learning into bite-sized chunks your people can easily fit into their daily workflow, even if just for a few minutes each day.

Required: Yes—but it’s not a deal-breaker.

Why consider it: Lack of time is the top barrier to upskilling. Short-form learning content enables your people to learn in the flow of work, laying the groundwork for a culture of continuous learning.

What to look for: Look for learning platforms with courses and labs broken into short, easily digestible segments. Bonus points if they have a mobile app learners can use to upskill on the go, like when they’re commuting to work or waiting in line at the store.

Theory is one thing, application is another. Hands-on learning experiences give tech professionals the opportunity to apply what they’ve learned in real environments while mitigating risk. 

From deploying a serverless function using AWS Lambda to mitigating bias in Azure and practicing penetration testing a single Windows Server, hands-on labs span a range of topics and often include step-by-step instructions, practice exercises, and projects. Some also offer challenge modes for more advanced learners who really want to test their skills.

Required: Yes.

Why you need it: Tech professionals say hands-on learning is the best way to learn and apply new skills. The freedom to experiment without disrupting your environment or racking up cloud costs helps technologists practice for real-world scenarios, identify areas for improvement, and build confidence in their newfound skills. 

What to look for: Find learning platforms with hands-on labs and sandboxes. Prioritize those with hands-on experiences for your most critical current and future skills gaps. 

Learn more about Pluralsight’s hands-on labs and sandboxes.

You don’t need an AI learning assistant, but they can be pretty handy resources for leaders and learners alike. 

Leaders can use AI assistants to create custom learning paths for their team and improve employee engagement. Learners can use them to build personalized learning experiences for specific career or personal development goals, solve technical challenges, and validate their knowledge. 

Required: Optional—but they’re really, really useful. 

Why consider it: AI learning assistants embedded within learning platforms make it easy to personalize and scale upskilling throughout the organization. They can also be a valuable resource for learners. If someone has a question, they can ask the AI assistant who will provide an answer and recommend courses or labs to learn more.

What to look for: Prioritize learning platforms with AI assistants that use RAG to ensure responses are accurate and sourced from specific video content and transcripts, not unverified external data from anywhere on the internet.

Learn more about Pluralsight’s AI assistant Iris.

Skill assessments measure an employee’s proficiency in a certain skill or technology. They help you identify employees’ strengths, weaknesses, and skills gaps to develop relevant learning and development initiatives.

As you go, they also give you a way to measure skill progression and evaluate the success of learning initiatives. Employees can retake them after learning to see if their skills actually stuck.

Required: Yes.

Why you need it: 47% of organizations have abandoned projects due to IT skills gaps. Skill assessments are critical for identifying those gaps and developing an upskilling strategy to complete projects and achieve business goals.

What to look for: Look for platforms with robust skill assessment capabilities. Self-assessments don’t cut it—employees often overestimate or underestimate their abilities, which can skew results and prevent you from developing effective learning and development programs.

Get tips to identify your team’s skills gaps.

Your organization is investing time and money into upskilling. You need a way to show its impact, and learning platforms with built-in analytics can help you do just that.

The right analytics allow you to discover hidden talent, assign people to the right projects, and ensure you’re on track to meet your goals.

Required: Yes.

Why you need it: Skill analytics are how you measure the ROI of learning platforms and upskilling in general. They’re key to advocating for the importance of upskilling, justifying budget, and building the skills your organization needs.

What to look for: Look for a tech learning platform with advanced analytics that tracks more than hours watched and courses completed. Engagement metrics like this are helpful, but you want to see how skills progressed or changed over time.

Discover 17 metrics to track upskilling ROI.

95% of executives say building a culture of learning is a priority at their organization, but 95% of IT and business professionals say they need more support to learn tech skills.

Even with all the right learning platform features, a product alone isn’t enough. You need to build a continuous learning culture, and the right learning partner can help you get there.

With our expert-led hands-on learning platform, personalized support and guidance, and instructor-led training, Pluralsight is your learning partner for developing tech teams and accelerating outcomes. Learn more about what makes us different.