As emerging technologies continue to shape the future of work, the skills people need are evolving just as quickly. AI, cybersecurity, cloud computing, and data analytics are changing how work gets done across sectors, while employers place increasing value on practical experience, durable skills, and the ability to keep pace as technology changes.

IBM SkillsBuild was designed to meet those needs, engineered around the simple premise that more people should have access to clear, practical ways for building the skills that evolving and emerging roles require. 

A free education program aimed at increasing access to technology education, IBM SkillsBuild can be accessed directly through SkillsBuild.org or through the partner organizations already working with learners. Those partners — including schools, universities, nonprofits, government agencies, and employers — can help tailor IBM SkillsBuild content to the learner groups they serve, making learning pathways more relevant to local needs and workforce opportunities.

At its core, IBM SkillsBuild reflects IBM’s belief that access to skills can expand access to opportunity. By combining digital learning with credentials, mentorship, applied projects, and partner-led support, the program aims to help learners both understand emerging technologies and see a realistic path forward in a changing economy.

“The technology skills may get you in the door, but those durable skills are what will keep you there.”

— Lydia Logan, Vice President, Global Education and Workforce Development, IBM

The Problem:

The pace of technological change has created a widening gap between the skills workers need and the pathways many learners have access to. Employers increasingly need workers with fluency in fields like data analytics, cybersecurity, cloud computing, AI, and other emerging technologies, but traditional education and hiring systems do not always move quickly enough to help learners build, validate, and apply those skills in real time.

That disconnect is especially consequential for those who have faced historical barriers to accessing technology careers. For many learners, the challenge lies in knowing where to start. Many learners reported to IBM that they did not see a career in technology as a viable option for themselves, in part because they believed training would be too expensive — signaling both a workforce challenge and an opportunity gap. 

The lightning-fast evolution of AI has only made skilling challenges more acute. And as IBM has recognized, the problem won’t be solved through technical training alone; learners also require durable workplace skills, career-relevant digital credentials, hands-on experiences, and support from real people who understand what prospective employers are actually looking for.

In our current environment, the problem is not simply helping learners to acquire a fixed set of skills, but also to help them build the confidence, adaptability, and good judgment they will need to keep learning as the world of work continues to be transformed.

The Solution:

IBM designed IBM SkillsBuild as a free technology education program that gives learners access to technical and workplace skills training, digital credentials, mentorship, and hands-on projects.

The program offers multiple levels of engagement, from webinars and workshops to cohort learning experiences, capstone projects, and industry-recognized certificate pathways. As AI reshapes entry-level work, these hands-on projects give learners opportunities to apply what they have learned and build a portfolio of work they can share with potential employers. Unlike many learning programs, IBM SkillsBuild also makes its IBM-branded digital credentials available at no cost, giving learners a way to validate their skills without taking on the added financial burden of paying to earn credentials. 

That kind of flexibility is integral to the model. IBM collaborates with organizations to identify the learning pathways and experiences most relevant to their learners, while IBM’s global network of Academic Ambassadors serves as mentors and guest lecturers, bringing industry expertise directly into the learning experience and helping students build their professional networks. In that way, IBM SkillsBuild ultimately functions as a partner-enabled learning ecosystem designed to help people build, validate, and apply skills in ways that connect to workforce opportunities.

“It’s very hard, if not impossible, to know what will be needed even two years from now. Maintaining that mindset of continuous learning is critical.”

— Lydia Logan, Vice President,  Global Education and Workforce Development, IBM

Why It’s Different: 

IBM SkillsBuild is designed around the understanding that learning does not happen in a vacuum. Through its collaborations with schools, employers, and other institutions, IBM works with the organizations that already have a working understanding of the learning needs of their communities, allowing for more bespoke pathways and formats. 

IBM SkillsBuild is not positioned as an alternative to a university education; it can also complement and strengthen existing degree pathways. University partners such as University College London integrate IBM SkillsBuild digital credentials into courses, allowing students to earn industry-recognized credentials as part of their degree programs and giving employers a fuller picture of what graduates know and are able to do. Other universities might incorporate IBM SkillsBuild into semester-long capstone projects rather than simply directing students to standalone online courses. Through a collaboration between IBM and Salesforce, learners can also complete a joint IBM SkillsBuild/Trailhead pathway, earn a joint credential, receive a coupon for a Salesforce certification, and potentially enter a hiring pool of Salesforce clients.

In turn, IBM contributes its technology expertise, learning content, employee mentors, and industry knowledge. That combination of access, validation, and partner-led support comes together to allow IBM SkillsBuild to function as a way for learners to build skills, demonstrate them, and connect that learning to real-world workforce expectations. 

Impact Highlights: 

  • IBM has committed to skilling more than 30 million people globally by 2030
  • More than 22 million learners reached through IBM SkillsBuild and other programs to date
  • IBM mentors help learners build professional networks and understand industry expectations.
  • IBM SkillsBuild is consistently updated to map cleanly onto the skills employers are actually hiring for.

“We were in an era where you had the computer and data science majors, and they were the builders and everyone else was a user. Now we’re in a world where everyone can be a builder.”

— Lydia Logan, Vice President,  Global Education and Workforce Development, IBM

Key Enablers:

  1. IBM’s internal technical expertise. IBM SkillsBuild draws from IBM’s own internal knowledge base, which helps ensure that learners are building skills that accurately reflect where technology and employer needs are headed.
  2. Free credentials. Offering IBM-issued digital credentials at truly no cost gives learners a more viable way to validate their skills and demonstrate them to employers.
  3. Human support from IBMers. By giving learners access to people already working in the industry, IBM SkillsBuild helps participants build professional networks and connect to real career pathways.
  4. Ecosystem partnerships. Through partnerships with universities, nonprofits, governments and employers, IBM is able to explore ways to connect completed learning pathways to more certifications, hiring pools, and employer demand — helping learners build evidence of their skills and helping employers recognize talent more seamlessly.
  5. Responsible AI and workforce frameworks. IBM SkillsBuild incorporates outside frameworks and best practices from organizations like the EdSafe Alliance, the World Economic Forum, and Cisco-led consortium work on ICT jobs. Those inputs help the program stay grounded in responsible technology use while keeping pace with how AI is reshaping education and work.

Scaled Impact:
In addition to offering direct support for learners, IBM SkillsBuild is designed to function as a global skilling infrastructure that can be adapted across geographies and learner groups. That scale is what allows IBM to align IBM SkillsBuild with emerging workforce priorities across different markets. In the U.S., for example, IBM has committed to skilling 2 million people on AI by the end of 2028; in India, the company has committed to skilling 5 million people in AI literacy and fluency.

IBM is also working to make IBM SkillsBuild a stronger bridge between education and opportunity over time. By mapping to the capabilities its own talent team looks for in new hires, IBM SkillsBuild points toward a workforce approach in which degrees, credentials, and demonstrated competencies can work together to give employers a fuller understanding of what learners know and can do.

Lessons for Other Leaders:

  1. Build from what your organization already does well. IBM SkillsBuild draws on IBM’s existing core strengths: technology expertise, skilled employees, and a deep understanding of workforce needs. Start with the assets you already have.
  2. Make credentials attainable without additional barriers. Free courses might help learners begin, but credentials help them validate their skills.
  3. Lean on collaborations instead of building everything from scratch. Access improves when programs are designed around learners’ organic starting points.
  4. Teach responsible use alongside fluency. As more and more people gain access to powerful tools like AI, leaders need to be intentional about pairing skill-building with safety, security, and responsible use frameworks. 
  5. Treat continuous learning as part of the model. In a workforce shaped by AI and other fast-moving technologies, no program can be built around a fixed endpoint. The goal should be helping people stay curious, adaptable, and ready to keep building new skills over time.