Almost every employer says training and development is core to its EVP, a signature of their employment experience. Every EVP workshop I’ve ever led ends up with something along the lines of “We grow people” ringed on the whiteboard in bright marker. CEO quotes, slide decks, job ads - they all lean on it. It’s safe. It’s nice. But for most organisations, it’s farfetched
Saying your EVP offers “career growth” is selling a dream. Delivering that dream takes guts, investment, structure and honest leadership. However, too many employers can’t – or won’t – pay the price. And the result: broken promises, disengaged people, and brand damage that festers away as resentment and quiet quitting. That rot shows up everywhere from your Glassdoor reviews to your attrition data. Yet, so many still insist on doing it.
Momentum isn’t always progress, especially when you always end up back where you started.
Fathom helps you escape the loop. With insight, not intuition.
What employees are saying
Public reviews are brutal if you dig into them. Go to Glassdoor or Reddit. Search for “training” together with the name of a big company.
“They say they invest in people. What they mean is they bought a LinkedIn Learning licence and called it a day.”
This was a legit comment and, sadly, all too common.
And there’s plenty of data to back up what employees are rightly furious about:
- Only 26% of U.S. employees strongly agree their organisation encourages them to learn new skills. Gallup.com
- Less than half (47%) say they have the skills they need to do their job exceptionally well. Gallup.com
- LinkedIn’s 2025 Workplace Learning Report finds that only 36% of organisations qualify as “career development champions” with fully mature, business-yielding development programs. Another 31% have weak-to-moderate efforts, and 33% are just dabbling or starting.
Yes, people want development. That’s not new or profound. But, in reality, most employers are not giving people what they want, what they promised they’d give them, or doing anything even remotely better or different from their talent rivals – even thought standing out is kind of the whole point of an EVP.
Why companies keep using “skills growth” anyway
The belief has always been that it's safe messaging. It sounds good whilst feeling low risk to visionless or limp upper management. It checks the box with HR. It allows you to tell people you care – without having to prove, at any great length, that you actually do. In short, it’s seen as cheap and easy (but it isn't).
Helping HR, talent acquisition, employer branding, and company culture professionals find careers worth smiling about.
I’ve worked with employers in tech, professional services, manufacturing… you name it. In nearly all cases, they unanimously want their EVPs to lead with (or feature prominently) “training”, “career growth”, “continuous learning.” In many cases, those promises feel decorative at best. Not embedded. Not measurable. Not compelling. And sure as hell not unique or differentiating. Pointing to the internal data can help steer the conversation back to reality, but not always.
To make training real and a stand out feature of the employment experience you need:
- Clarity about which skills matter and why
- Pathways for people to use those new skills (projects, promotions, mobility)
- Mentorship, feedback, dedicated time
- Leadership that tolerates investment now for payoff later
Without these things, saying “We invest in you” lacks substance and feels kinda BS.
The damage when you can’t back it up
Broken promises erode trust. And trust is everything in employer branding. More so now than ever before.
Here’s what you get when you don’t deliver:
- Disillusioned people who stop buying into the EVP
- Higher turnover than you expect, because disillusioned people often leave quietly or badly. Not the kind of exits you see coming
- Weakened employer reputation not just among candidates but internally (which leaks externally)
- Somewhere, always, someone will post that Reddit thread or that Glassdoor review dripping with sarcasm
Eventually you’re left with people who say “Yeah they offered growth” while they slide through their day doing work they don’t believe in. That undermines motivation, engagement, productivity, and referrals. It's employer branding done badly.
EBN
Why now is different
It has always mattered to deliver on your promises. But right now, with the tidal wave trend of skills-based hiring, the stakes are higher than ever. Every employer that’s been paying attention is suddenly about “skills, not just past work.” LinkedIn is pumping out endless reports about upskilling. Governments are pushing reskilling initiatives. AI is throwing petrol on the fire and it's now sexier than ever.
That means training and development can no longer be “nice to have” lines in your EVP anymore. They’re becoming the crown jewel of talent attraction. If you get it wrong or mislead you’re breaking a promise anymore AND devaluing the very currency of your brand.
And don’t forget: if every employer is shouting about skills, how on earth do you stand out? Not all employers can differentiate on the same generic claim. And candidates aren't stupid, they're savvy enough to look for proof (usually by asking the AI gods).
Proof will become the make-or-break factor. Actual evidence. Tangible and relatable stories of employees who moved up, sideways, or into brand-new careers because your company didn’t just talk about growth, it delivered it.
Without that proof (and the GEO to showcase it), you’re just another company trying to ride the skills hype cycle. And the louder the noise, the quicker the fakes will be exposed.
Momentum isn’t always progress, especially when you always end up back where you started.
Fathom helps you escape the loop. With insight, not intuition.
What “doing it right” looks like
There are some companies that do all of this well.
Some of the things they do:
- They build learning ecosystems that are tied directly to business strategy (not just optional courses)
- They make growth visible: folks moving roles, team-swaps, stretch assignments, career-plan conversations that go beyond vague “pathways”
- They measure outcomes: skill adoption, internal mobility, manager feedback, retention of learners vs non-learners, performance linked to new capabilities
When people inside those special few companies talk on LinkedIn or in exit interviews, they don’t mention “learning modules.” They mention what changed for them: the ability to lead a project they never thought possible, the new tools they learnt to use, the visibility and exposure they got, the chance to work on something that stretched them beyond their comfort zone.
When you see them, the difference is obvious.
Stop fooling yourself
Here’s what you, as an employer branding leader or EVP architect, need to ask:
- When we promise “skills growth,” can we point to three real examples in the last year where an employee has used that growth in a promotion, new role, or highly visible project?
- Have we built the feedback mechanisms to find out what people actually want/need to learn – not what’s easiest for L&D to deliver?
- Are managers held accountable for growth conversations? And is time accounted for in performance calendars for skill development vs day-to-day deliverables?
- Do we communicate the risk of overpromising? Because promises unkept become resentments and disengagement.
- Finally, and most importantly if we want to use this in an EVP… do we do this better than our talent rivals? Can we really stand out on this promise?
If you cannot answer those with confidence, then stop leading with “growth.” Pick a promise you can keep. Be honest and deliver. It's far better to be real (by using the data) than to be trendy.
Final word
Training and development are too important to be lip service. The skills promise is one of the biggest EVP hooks out there – but also one of the easiest to botch. If you treat it like marketing fluff because it felt safe and easy, you will get found out. If you treat it like strategy, you might actually build a brand that can stand behind its word.
Deliver on your promises or don’t promise at all. Thinking training is a safe fallback because you’ve got nothing else to say is fool’s gold.
Takeaways
The Skills Promise is Easy to Make, Hard to Keep
Training and development sound great in an EVP, but most companies can’t deliver beyond lip service.
Employees Aren’t Buying It
Data and reviews show employees are frustrated with generic “growth” claims that don’t match reality.
The Stakes Just Got Higher
Skills-based hiring has made training and development the crown jewel of talent attraction. Proof, not promises, now sets brands apart.
Proof Beats Promises Every Time
Real examples of career moves, skill adoption, and visible growth are what differentiate, not buzzwords.
Empty EVP = Employer Brand Erosion
Fail to back up your growth claims, and you don’t just lose trust—you damage engagement, referrals, and retention.
EBN