URB-B.04.B - Employee Upskilling Programme Support
Does the company provide or support access to programmes for upskilling its employees?
About the data
The WBA Urban Benchmark measures and ranks the world's most influential companies on their efforts to shape sustainable, inclusive and resilient urban environments, tracking how companies address essential urban needs while respecting planetary boundaries across dimensions including decent work and human rights, environmental and climate impacts, social inclusion, and sustainability leadership. The 2026 edition assessed 300 companies across four key industries shaping urban environments: real estate, construction and engineering, transport, and utilities. Companies were scored on 24 urban-specific indicators plus 18 core social indicators, spanning four measurement areas: sustainable governance, inclusive cities, healthy cities, and climate change and resilient cities. The benchmark is designed to incentivise the private sector to take adequate responsibility for its role in ensuring affordable, safe and inclusive urban environments for all. More information can be found here.
Methodology
The transition to net zero and developments in artificial intelligence are driving huge
sectoral shifts in the global economy and changing the demand for workers’ skills and knowledge,
leading to corporate restructuring, skills gaps and layoffs, with stronger effects in certain industries.
Large companies, often at the forefront of technological innovations and smart city developments,
must consider the impacts of these transitions on their workers in terms of income and employment.
They should develop programmes for upskilling to ensure that future skills needs are met and
retention and redeployment outweigh redundancy.
Research Guidance
The company provides qualitative evidence of the type and scope of programs that employees can enrol in to gain new skills in the context of transitions and changing world of work.
Upskilling programs must go beyond training on how to do their job. Onboarding, occupational health and safety, or ethics and compliance training programs are not accepted for this element.
Training related to new technologies, digital skills, languages, managerial skills, are all accepted, i.e. any training that increases income or employment opportunities and reduces the risk of redundancy.
Trainings must be continuous (part of ongoing upskilling programs) rather than one-off trainings, and should be targeted towards existing employees rather than prospective employees (such as external internship or mentoring programs for graduates).
Commitments of resources to future upskilling (i.e. planned trainings) are not sufficient - the programs must be active during the year of assessment.
Programs should either be available to all employees, or target specific groups that are at risk from skills gaps and technological change. Programs that target e.g. only senior managers are not sufficient.
A statement by the company that it offers upskilling programs is not sufficient unless the content/scope of the program is explicit (e.g. the types of skills offered or the program name and objectives).
Alternatively, the company discloses its funding support for employees to receive external training or education to further their employment opportunities - either the financial amount given annually to employees to pursue external qualifications, or a list of qualifications that company pays for.
sectoral shifts in the global economy and changing the demand for workers’ skills and knowledge,
leading to corporate restructuring, skills gaps and layoffs, with stronger effects in certain industries.
Large companies, often at the forefront of technological innovations and smart city developments,
must consider the impacts of these transitions on their workers in terms of income and employment.
They should develop programmes for upskilling to ensure that future skills needs are met and
retention and redeployment outweigh redundancy.
Research Guidance
The company provides qualitative evidence of the type and scope of programs that employees can enrol in to gain new skills in the context of transitions and changing world of work.
Upskilling programs must go beyond training on how to do their job. Onboarding, occupational health and safety, or ethics and compliance training programs are not accepted for this element.
Training related to new technologies, digital skills, languages, managerial skills, are all accepted, i.e. any training that increases income or employment opportunities and reduces the risk of redundancy.
Trainings must be continuous (part of ongoing upskilling programs) rather than one-off trainings, and should be targeted towards existing employees rather than prospective employees (such as external internship or mentoring programs for graduates).
Commitments of resources to future upskilling (i.e. planned trainings) are not sufficient - the programs must be active during the year of assessment.
Programs should either be available to all employees, or target specific groups that are at risk from skills gaps and technological change. Programs that target e.g. only senior managers are not sufficient.
A statement by the company that it offers upskilling programs is not sufficient unless the content/scope of the program is explicit (e.g. the types of skills offered or the program name and objectives).
Alternatively, the company discloses its funding support for employees to receive external training or education to further their employment opportunities - either the financial amount given annually to employees to pursue external qualifications, or a list of qualifications that company pays for.
License
Topics
Framework Mappings
Value Type
Category
Options
Yes
No
Assessment
Steward Assessed
Report Type
Aggregate Data Report