Three Trends Shaping Learning and Development in Financial Services for 2025

As an L&D leader in financial services, you're tasked with equipping your workforce to navigate a rapidly evolving landscape. The rise of GenAI, industry convergence, and mounting global risks are forcing financial institutions to adapt quickly—and that means ensuring your employees have the skills to keep pace. Falling behind on critical skills development isn't just an inconvenience—it can hinder innovation, impact customer experience, and ultimately threaten your organization's ability to compete.

To provide L&D leaders with a clear roadmap, Coursera's Industry Skills Brief 2025 offers a deep dive into the ever-changing skills landscape across five key industries, including financial services. The report pinpoints critical learning opportunities and demonstrates the unique blend of technical and interpersonal skills that will help financial services employees thrive in this new era.

We sat down with two Coursera skill experts—Jeremy York, Senior Content Strategy Taxonomy & Innovation Manager, and Nitish Thappa, Manager, Tech & Data Content Strategy—to discuss the report's key findings for the financial services industry.

Three trends shaping financial services skills development in 2025

1. GenAI as a strategic imperative

Imagine unlocking an additional $340 billion in value for the financial services industry. That's the potential economic impact of generative AI (GenAI), according to McKinsey. This transformative technology is poised to revolutionize everything from fraud detection to customer service, making it essential for L&D leaders to equip their workforce with the skills to harness its power.

This potential is not lost on financial services professionals. Coursera has observed a staggering 709% year-over-year surge in enrollment for GenAI courses within the industry, a clear indicator that individuals and organizations recognize the need to embrace this technology. Popular courses like Generative AI for Everyone (DeepLearning.AI) and Introduction to Generative AI (Google Cloud) are providing professionals at all levels—from individual contributors to the C-suite—with the foundational knowledge to leverage GenAI effectively.

“While GenAI can automate tasks more efficiently, it's our uniquely human capabilities—problem-solving, strategic thinking, leadership—that will become even more valuable,” says Jeremy York, Senior Content Strategy Taxonomy & Innovation Manager at Coursera. This means that L&D professionals must focus on developing a blend of technical GenAI skills and essential human skills to ensure their workforce is prepared to thrive in this new landscape.

For example, as Nitish Thappa, Manager, Tech & Data Content Strategy at Coursera, points out, GenAI is already being integrated into critical financial services workflows, such as fraud detection: "GenAI can power advanced predictive behavior models, like analyzing whether a customer has engaged in similar activities over the past weeks, months, or years."

As GenAI continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace, a foundational understanding of this technology—and other pressing skill areas—will be essential for financial services professionals to remain agile and competitive.

2. Balancing hard skills with essential human skills

As GenAI transforms the financial services industry, automating tasks and reshaping job roles, the value of uniquely human skills—leadership, emotional intelligence, and adaptability—becomes even more pronounced. It's no longer enough to simply possess technical expertise; thriving in this new era demands a strategic blend of both hard and soft skills.

Coursera's Industry Skills Brief reveals the top 10 skills in high demand within financial services, highlighting this crucial balance:

1. FinTech

2. Negotiation (Human skill)

3. Leadership development (Human skill)

4. Emotional intelligence (Human skill)

5. BlockChain

6. Investment management

7. Resilience (Human skill)

8. Adaptability (Human skill)

9. Change management (Human skill)

10. General accounting

"We spent two decades developing all these hard skills,” says York. "What about the soft ones? The relative gap is just so much more striking in leadership now.”

This emphasis on soft skills reflects the changing nature of work itself. As technology reshapes tasks and increases the prevalence of remote and hybrid work models, the ability to lead effectively, communicate clearly, and navigate complex interpersonal dynamics becomes paramount.

"A few decades ago, leadership was meant for CEOs or presidents of the organization," notes Thappa. "But now I think it’s important for everybody, whether that’s an individual contributor, manager, or group manager. Leading yourself is a skill that stems from the broader domain of leadership.”

The impact of investing in soft skills development is tangible. Goeasy, a leading financial services company, has witnessed firsthand the positive effects of prioritizing emotional intelligence (EI) training for its employees. "Financial services rely heavily on data, technology, and AI, but our employees ultimately still work with people," shares Kim Ellis, Vice President, Leadership Development & Culture at goeasy. "We’re committed to ensuring every employee can succeed, and we’ve found that our best leaders and front-line employees actively develop their emotional intelligence (EI). Through our Coursera program, we show employees that EI is a skill they can develop, just like any technical skill, empowering them to better serve customers and advance their careers."

To help financial institutions cultivate these essential human skills, Coursera offers a range of impactful courses, such as Positive Psychology: Resilience Skills (University of Pennsylvania) and High Performance Collaboration: Leadership, Teamwork, and Negotiation (Northwestern University).

3. Micro-credentials as a powerful pathway to in-demand skills

In today's fast-changing financial services landscape, micro-credentials like Professional Certificates have emerged as a powerful tool for professionals seeking to advance their careers and for organizations looking to close critical skill gaps. These industry-recognized credentials offer a flexible, efficient way to gain in-demand skills and demonstrate job readiness.

This demand is reflected in the remarkable growth of Professional Certificate enrollments within the financial services industry. According to Coursera's 2025 Industry Skills Report, enrollments surged by 88% year-over-year, signaling a strong appetite for this type of focused skills development.

"What used to require lengthy books, boot camps, and extensive hands-on work to gain practical knowledge is now easily accessible through platforms like Coursera," says Nitish Thappa, Manager, Tech & Data Content Strategy. "Professional Certificates offer a flexible, self-driven approach to learning, combining video lessons, hands-on projects, and real-world applications to provide a well-rounded educational experience."

Beyond technical expertise, Professional Certificates also help individuals demonstrate preparedness for a promotion or new role. "Employers want to see evidence of applied skills," says Jeremy York, Senior Content Strategy Taxonomy & Innovation Manager at Coursera. "Professional Certificates provide that concrete proof, signaling to hiring managers that a candidate possesses the practical abilities to hit the ground running."

The most popular Professional Certificates within financial services reflect the industry's evolving needs:

1. Google Data Analytics

2. Google Project Management

3. Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst

4. Google Cybersecurity

5. Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce

This blend of data analysis, project management, cybersecurity, and digital marketing expertise underscores the financial services industry's focus on data-driven strategies, technological fluency, and customer-centric approaches.

Future-proof your financial services organization

The financial services industry stands at a crossroads. To thrive amidst rapid technological advancements, evolving customer expectations, and an increasingly complex risk landscape, a proactive and strategic approach to skills development is paramount. L&D leaders hold the key to unlocking their workforce's full potential by:

• Embracing GenAI as a driver of both efficiency and strategic thinking, ensuring employees at all levels possess the skills to leverage this transformative technology.

• Cultivating a workforce equipped with a balanced skill set, combining essential human skills like leadership, adaptability, and communication with sought-after technical expertise.

• Leveraging innovative learning solutions, including industry-recognized micro-credentials, to provide flexible, job-relevant skills development opportunities that empower career advancement and close critical skills gaps.

By embracing these priorities, financial institutions can foster a future-ready workforce prepared to navigate the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. The insights provided in Coursera's Industry Skills Brief 2025 can serve as a valuable starting point for L&D leaders as they shape their skilling strategies and empower their teams to thrive in the evolving world of financial services.