by Deborah Hamill, Boldr Senior Vice-President (SVP) People and Places
Resilience is about more than just survival—it’s about momentum and the ability to thrive in times of change, such as when technology like AI disrupts work as we know it.
AI is already transforming the workplace—and the disruption is about to accelerate. McKinsey finds that nearly 80% of organizations now use Generative AI, while Goldman Sachs has estimated that around 300 million jobs would be replaced by AI. The World Economic Forum’s The Future of Jobs Report 2025 finds that workers can expect 39% of their existing skill sets to be transformed or become outdated by 2030.
How do we equip hundreds of millions of people to move from a position of risk to one of opportunity? They need effective development programs for resilient careers that are designed not only to survive these changes but to thrive.
Workforce upskilling and reskilling have become more important than ever before: the WEF report says 59% of the workforce would need training by 2030. Encouragingly, the report also notes that 50% of workers have completed training, reskilling, or upskilling measures, up from 41% in the report’s 2023 edition.
But while organizations and their employees widely recognize how important upskilling and career development planning is, traditional approaches are fundamentally broken. Just as mentorship programs falter when their goals are unclear, many career progression programs fail for being overly broad. They place the burden of navigation entirely on the employee. As a result, employees often enroll in courses only to abandon them once they realize they already know half the material.
We must shift from a model of accidental growth to one of intentional design, building careers that are not just resilient but regenerative. Leaders shouldn’t impose development plans on individuals, and individuals shouldn’t be left to their own devices either. Professional career development must be an iterative partnership and process that considers the individuals’ skills, highest potential, needs of the business, and the future of the industry.
Here, we can harness the very tool causing the disruption to architect the solution.
With AI, we can create customized learning plans that consider each individual’s skills and competencies, pairing that with where they want to go, and recommending the coursework they need to complete to achieve their goals.
Boldr is pioneering this approach with its new People Success Framework—a career roadmap to any job a person might want, with the resources to get them there. For example, if the individual wants to become a senior backend engineer, this roadmap gives them all of the details of the technical requirements for that job. Then, AI compares these with the individual’s current job title, role description, personal skills/qualifications, and gives them an individualized learning plan. In Boldr’s case, Juno’s AI provides individuals with the full roadmaps to all the roles we offer at this company.
On top of this, a real differentiator is that once individuals have completed these programs, our Talent Acquisition team will have access to that information and proactively reach out to individuals when they see a role for them. The result is a system where growth is proactive, not reactive. It shifts the dynamic from hoping for an opportunity to being actively prepared when one arises.
Imagine the excitement of hearing from the talent team: “You’ve been growing in this role for two years; you’ve built new skills through your coursework—have you seen this opportunity? We think you should go for it.” It would spark momentum and excitement in people, build loyalty, and drive growth. If we’re trying to create resiliency, then we must recognize that career growth stabilizes communities and creates high levels of engagement.
For employers, investing in comprehensive, personalized career resilience programs can reduce attrition among employees who feel limited in their growth opportunities. These programs lower the costs and risks of new hires while strengthening workforce planning. Many organizations struggle to weather economic shifts because they lack robust plans that support business continuity. With the right strategies in place—grooming talent and creating clear pathways for advancement—the departure of key people becomes far less disruptive.
Our theory of change is simple yet ambitious: by investing in meaningful careers, we don’t just transform individual lives—we shift entire systems. Career growth at Boldr isn’t merely about upward mobility; it’s about creating ripple effects that uplift families, strengthen communities, and contribute to a more equitable global workforce.
Brief Bio:
Deborah Hamill, Boldr Senior Vice-President (SVP) People and Places
Deborah Hamill is a results-driven Global People Executive with over 15 years of experience transforming and scaling teams during hyper-growth. As the current SVP, People & Places at Boldr, she draws on her experience of leading people teams at pre- and post-IPO SaaS global companies. Deborah excels at building functions like People Operations and Employee Relations from scratch, grounding her strategic approach in strong relationships and high-impact business results.
About Boldr
Boldr believes talent is equally distributed, but opportunity is not. It is changing that paradigm, building global teams through ethical talent outsourcing. As the first and largest global B Corp Certified BPO and the first B Corp Certified BPO in the Philippines, Boldr is committed to social and environmental responsibility. Established in 2017, Boldr serves 100+ client partners via 1,500 team members in 5 countries with 7 city locations in 10+ languages. Expand your team with Boldr: a purpose-driven, people-focused BPO company built to help teams, clients + communities grow & connect. www.BoldrImpact.com
