Guild and Employers Drive Workforce Resilience, Supporting More Than a Quarter Million Learners in 2025

Highlights from the year:

• Learners moved into in-demand jobs, with 2025 marking 90,000 role changes over the last decade
• 80% of learners enrolled in programs that develop transferable, resilient skills, including critical thinking and digital and AI fluency
• Employers successfully built pipelines for licensed and certified roles through the newly launched product, Guild Navigator
• State and regional collaborations strengthened local workforce pipelines
• Global employers expanded education access to employees outside the U.S., with Guild now available in nearly every country

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As employers navigate rapid technological disruption driven by AI and mounting talent pressures, companies across industries are rethinking how they build, retain, and mobilize talent. In 2025, Guild supported employer-led investments that helped more than a quarter million workers build resilience, advance their careers, and meet evolving business needs.

Across retail, healthcare, manufacturing, and financial services, employers this year increasingly moved beyond short-term hiring solutions toward durable talent systems designed for continuous change. Research from Guild and Lightcast underscores why this shift matters. Workforce mobility generates more than $220 billion in annual economic value, but has fallen to its lowest level since 2016, highlighting the urgency for scalable, outcomes-driven investments.

“In a period of sustained disruption, employers are recognizing that resilience, opportunity, and performance are deeply connected,” said Bijal Shah, CEO of Guild. “As I reflect on last year, what stands out is the determination of our learners, along with the leadership of our employer partners, learning institutions, and those in the public-sector. When learners commit to their own growth and partners invest in the systems that help people adapt and advance, it sets the stage for a workforce that’s more resilient over time.”

Employer-Led Investments and Product Innovation Power Scalable Talent Strategies

Companies addressed acute talent shortages by creating accessible pathways into hard-to-fill and licensed roles.

• Walgreens launched and expanded PharmStart, a first-of-its-kind program designed to eliminate barriers to pursuing a PharmD degree, strengthening the pharmacist talent pipeline.
• Guild Navigator, a new human-managed, AI-enhanced platform helped employers transform how they fill licensed and certified roles.
• Healthcare systems including Providence, Wellstar, CHRISTUS Health, and OSF Healthcare continued their commitment to workforce investments, contributing to Guild healthcare learners achieving a 2.9x higher likelihood of internal mobility.

Employers turned education into an engine for career progression for a global workforce and at scale.

• Lennox, Signature Aviation, Din Tai Fung, and many other employers across healthcare, retail, and manufacturing launched new skilling and education benefits programs to build future-ready workforces.
• Spectrum continued to invest in its workforce through access to tuition-free learning and career advancement, with employees participating in Guild programs promoted at a 20% higher rate than non-engaged employees.
• Target celebrated a major milestone, with more than 10,000 team members completing Dream to Be programs through Guild.
• Wharton Online, the digital learning platform of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, brought Wharton’s acclaimed executive education programs to Guild’s employer partners, providing skilling opportunities at every level of the workforce.
• An expanded global solution, with Guild’s tuition reimbursement product now available in nearly every country, enabled members to engage with learning in a localized way and in their preferred language.
• Employers continued to build high-performing teams at scale through Guild Academy, a cohort-based, employer-customized learning solution. As of 2025, more than 300,000 learners have participated in a Guild Academy program, with over 80% of participants completing voluntary programs.

Public Sector Partnerships Strengthen State and Local Workforce Pipelines

In 2025, Guild began partnering with state and local organizations to help build workforce pipelines in critical industries. In Alabama, Good Jobs Birmingham expanded access to healthcare careers by providing residents a clear pathway to Certified Medical Assistant roles through CCMA certification. In Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission is addressing skills needs across aerospace, manufacturing, and AI infrastructure, sectors vital to the state’s economic future.

“We are thrilled to partner with Guild to align Oklahoma's workforce priorities with the evolving needs of our employers,” said Trae Rahill, CEO of the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission. “This collaboration will help us expand access to high-quality training and strengthen the talent pipelines in some of our fastest-growing industries. Partners like Guild are essential to us launching all the initiatives we have visioned to invest in our workforce and ensure Oklahoma’s economic growth into the future.”

AI and Resilient Skills Ensure Adaptability

As AI reshapes jobs, workforce resilience depends on skills that endure beyond any single role or technology shift. Employers are preparing for what’s next by combining AI skilling with the development of durable, transferable capabilities.

Today, more than 80% of Guild learners are enrolled in programs that build transferable, resilient skills, including critical thinking, leadership, and digital and AI fluency. Over the past three years, more than 100,000 learners have enrolled in programs teaching AI fluency and advanced data skills, with participation growing 1.5x in the past year.

Additionally, through industry and function specific Academies, including a proprietary AI Academy, Guild is partnering with companies to translate strategy into driving skill application, collaboration, and performance.

2026 and Beyond Requires Precision and Adaptability

As employers enter 2026, skilling and education benefits must be more targeted, measurable, and closely tied to business outcomes, while ensuring employees are prepared to adapt as AI and new technologies reshape work. Guild is committed to:

• Greater precision and insight, improving visibility into outcomes so leaders can confidently steer education investments and connect them directly to workforce strategy.
• Workforce readiness for AI-enabled roles, supporting programs that build practical AI fluency and transferable skills, grounded in real job application and long-term adaptability.
• Consistent, personalized support for learners, simplifying the learning experience and providing meaningful coaching to drive persistence toward outcomes, regardless of location or career stage.

About Guild

Guild partners with the country’s most innovative employers, including Chipotle, Target, Walgreens, JPMorgan Chase, Hilton, Spectrum, PepsiCo, Tyson, and more, to build the talent needed for today and a resilient workforce for tomorrow. Guild helps employers identify, develop, and mobilize internal talent — enabling workers to gain skills for in-demand roles and companies to stay agile. By connecting employees to real-world learning, coaching, and career support, and providing companies with actionable talent insights, Guild transforms all talent into high-impact contributors and positions companies for long-term, sustainable growth. For more information, visit https://www.guild.com.