Upskilling can lead to significant professional growth, with over 64% of working professionals reporting a direct impact on their appraisal outcomes, according to the latest report by TeamLease Edtech. The report also found that 42% of surveyed professionals experienced promotions, salary hikes, or enhanced roles within just 18 months of completing their upskilling.
The report highlights that over 40% of respondents intentionally pursued upskilling close to appraisal cycles to maximise visibility and impact. It further states that while a large majority of professionals (84%) engaged in some form of upskilling over the past year, only about 23.9% of employers provided full sponsorship, whereas 46% of professionals chose to self-fund their most recent learning initiatives.
“Employees who self-funded their courses were more likely to report appraisal gains compared to those who didn’t upskill at all. Additionally, professionals from technology and finance backgrounds showed the highest self-upskilling rates (78.3%). In contrast, 80% of sales and marketing respondents preferred short-term certifications and online tutorials, emphasising the growing relevance of just-in-time and low-cost learning formats,” the report noted.
While professionals believe that upskilling helps them build resilience in the current market conditions where the job security is a big concern, a large majority of them (92%) said that formal education still holds its weight in promotions and performance discussions. The survey was conducted across different functions like technology, finance, sales, operations, and human resources, covering over 14,000 working professionals.
“The professionals who take initiative, especially those who invest in their learning, stand to gain not just skills but also recognition, responsibility, and real career momentum. For organisations, this is a wake-up call to invest more strategically in structured upskilling paths that align with performance cycles. For employees, they need to act now, learn smart, and think long-term,” said Shantanu Rooj, founder and CEO of TeamLease Edtech.