How to create a continuous learning culture with AI

Learning culture is crucial for the ongoing success of your organisation’s learning and development efforts.

Bad learning cultures tend to mean that new ideas are shut down quickly, there are limited opportunities to develop new skills and the priority is maintaining the status quo. A good learning culture, in contrast, will embrace ideas and fresh ways of thinking, encourage employees to explore training opportunities and create the psychological safety to fail without judgement.

A good learning culture should also be continuous. Instead of happening in bursts around standalone learning events, a continuous learning culture means that learning is woven into the fabric of the organisation. It’s something people appreciate, rather than a box-ticking exercise once a year.

Below, we’ll explore what a learning culture is, why it’s so important to businesses and how AI can turbocharge the learning experience over time.

What is a continuous learning culture?

A continuous learning culture is one where learning isn’t treated as a one-off event, an annual compliance exercise or something that only happens in a training room. Instead, learning is an integral part of everyday work. People are encouraged to build skills over time, reflect on what they’ve learned, share knowledge with others and apply new ideas immediately, without fearing the consequences if something doesn’t go to plan.

In organisations with strong continuous learning cultures, employees don’t wait to be told when or how to learn. Learning happens naturally through problem-solving, collaboration, feedback and curiosity – all of which can be developed over time. Importantly, the culture supported by systems and leadership behaviours that make learning feel relevant, accessible and meaningful.

This kind of culture recognises a simple truth: skills don’t stay static. Roles evolve, tools change and business priorities shift. Continuous learning allows organisations to adapt without constantly playing catch-up.

Why a continuous learning culture matters more than ever

The pace of change at work has accelerated dramatically. New technologies, shifting customer expectations and evolving regulations mean that skills can become outdated in months rather than years, sending skills and knowledge the way of the BlackBerry or fax machines. Traditional training models – long courses delivered once or twice a year – struggle to keep up with this blistering rate of change.

A continuous learning culture helps organisations stay resilient and ready to pivot at a moment’s notice. Employees who learn continuously are more confident, more engaged and better equipped with the right skills to handle change. They’re also more likely to feel invested in, which supports retention and internal mobility.

43% of employees say that investment in their growth only happens periodically throughout the year, instead of on a consistent basis. For a further 10%, learning only happens if they initiate it or not at all.
– Deloitte, 2024

For L&D teams, continuous learning shifts the focus from ‘delivering training’ to enabling performance. The goal is no longer just knowledge transfer, but helping people do their jobs better, in real time, as challenges arise – and proving it.

If you haven't done one before, now could be the time to carry out a learning culture audit to see how yours measures up. Our learning maturity healthcheck is a good place to start!

The role of AI in continuous learning

AI has made continuous learning far more achievable at scale. Rather than relying on people to seek out learning or remember what they were taught months ago, AI can surface insights, guidance and development opportunities at the moment they’re needed.

Instead of asking, ‘How do we get people to complete more courses?’, AI allows L&D teams to instead ask, ‘How do we support people while they work?’.

This is where tools like Helix, our AI skills intelligence platform, and VeeCoach, our AI coach, play a crucial role in cultivating a continuous learning culture.

Tracking and measuring skills in the flow of work with Helix

One of the biggest challenges in building a continuous learning culture is visibility. Many organisations don’t have a clear picture of what skills people actually have, how those skills are developing or where skills gaps exist.

Helix helps solve this by tracking and measuring skills as part of everyday work. Rather than relying solely on self-assessments or annual reviews, skills data is built up over time through displays of real behaviour in the flow of work.

This gives L&D teams a much richer understanding of capability across the organisation. It also allows learning to be more targeted. Instead of generic training programmes, development can be aligned to real skill needs at individual, team and organisational levels. For instance, if your sales team need to improve their growth mindset, but your customer service team need better active listening skills, the L&D team can design learning catered to each audience.

Most importantly, it normalises skill development as an ongoing process, not a tick-box exercise, which is what a continuous learning culture should be all about.

In-the-moment coaching with VeeCoach

Learning is most effective when it happens close to the moment of need. This is where VeeCoach adds real power to a continuous learning culture.

VeeCoach provides on-demand, in-the-moment AI coaching that employees can access when they’re stuck, unsure or preparing for something important, whether that’s a difficult conversation, a new task or a decision they haven’t faced before.

Rather than waiting for a course or a manager check-in, employees can get immediate, contextual support. Over time, this builds confidence and capability, while reinforcing the idea that learning is part of doing the job, not separate from it.

Handily, VeeCoach syncs up with Helix. When an employee receives their skills summary following a meeting, they will see a ‘Coach me on this’ button that takes them straight to a personalised AI coaching session based on their specific feedback. This ensures the learning moment happens in the moment for better results.

For L&D teams, this means learning doesn’t stop when a programme ends. Support continues long after formal training is complete.

A practical example: AI supporting continuous learning in action

Imagine a growing organisation where managers are being promoted quickly, but leadership capability is inconsistent. Traditional leadership training has been delivered, but behaviours and must-have soft skills (such as communication, coaching or strategic vision) just aren’t sticking.

Using Helix, the L&D team begins tracking key leadership skills based on real interactions and learning activity. Patterns emerge, showing where confidence is growing and where extra support is needed.

At the same time, these managers have access to VeeCoach. Before performance reviews, team conversations or challenging moments, they use VeeCoach to get guidance tailored to their situation, or even to practise scenarios in a safe environment. Over time, this reinforces learning in context, rather than relying on vague memories from a past workshop or elearning course.

The result isn’t just better-trained managers, but a shift in mindset. Learning becomes continuous, personalised and embedded in everyday leadership practice – it’s not just a one-off leadership workshop, then nothing else.

How L&D teams can start building a continuous learning culture with AI

Building a continuous learning culture doesn’t require a complete overhaul of what you’re doing overnight. AI works best when it supports existing behaviours and nudges people in the right direction, rather than replacing everything you’re already doing.

L&D teams can start by focusing on skills rather than courses, supporting learning at the moment of need and using real behavioural data to inform decisions rather than assumptions. AI tools like Helix and VeeCoach make this practical, scalable and sustainable – especially in fast-moving organisations.

The goal isn’t to replace human learning or coaching, but to amplify it.

FAQs: Continuous learning culture and AI

The bottom line

A continuous learning culture embeds learning into everyday work rather than relying on one-off training events. It helps organisations adapt to change, improve performance, and retain engaged employees. AI plays a key role by enabling learning in the flow of work.

Tools like Helix help L&D teams track and measure skills over time, while VeeCoach provides on-demand, in-the-moment coaching. Together, they support a scalable, personalised approach to continuous learning that aligns development with real workplace needs.