Capability Academy

A "capability academy," also known as a corporate university or a learning academy, is an educational organization within a corporation that provides learning and development programs to improve and enhance the skills of its employees. These academies focus on building and strengthening the capabilities that are critical to the company's strategy and competitive advantage.

A capability academy might offer courses on a wide range of topics, including technical skills, leadership and management, sales and customer service, compliance and ethics, and more. They can utilize various learning methods like classroom training, online courses, coaching, mentoring, workshops, webinars, and even gamified learning.

The purpose of these academies is to continuously develop and update the skills of employees, to foster a culture of learning and development, and to ensure that the organization has the capabilities it needs to achieve its strategic goals. They also aim at promoting consistency of knowledge and practices across the organization.

For example, a technology company might have a capability academy that offers extensive training in software development methodologies, data analysis, project management, and more. Similarly, a bank might have an academy focused on areas like risk management, regulatory compliance, financial analysis, and customer service.

However, setting up and running a capability academy requires substantial investment in terms of time, resources, and commitment from the organization. Therefore, it's important to align the learning strategy with business objectives, to measure the impact of learning on performance, and to continuously update the curriculum based on changing business needs and industry trends.

The Josh Bersin Academy is an example of a capability academy for HR professionals, focusing on accelerating critical capabilities in HR. The role of L&D is to be the sponsor and architect of capability academies, not just for the business but also focused internally on HR, liaising with teams to understand where there are needs and gaps, and providing relevant opportunities to address those needs.