
Ensuring upskilling and reskilling go beyond having robust training programs. It means the company needs to clearly define the skills needed for the future, identify critical skills gaps, and communicate the importance of viewing careers from a skills perspective rather than just a job perspective.
We have been intentionally creating new skill-based career paths and have shifted to a skill-based talent management strategy over the past few years. This approach focuses on supporting our employees in building the skills the company needs while fostering their growth.
Recently, we launched the Career Hub, a tool that allows employees to build their individual career path based on their interests, and to identify the skills they need to acquire through training and various job experiences to achieve their career goals. Aligning upskilling with career development and progression is the best way to synchronize the company's and employees' interests.
I think that it’s key to connect personally with your teams, which is why I set aside time to visit our different sites.
Last year, I visited our offices in Bangalore, Bogota, San Jose (Costa Rica), Bangkok, Miami, Nice, Singapore, Warsaw and Istanbul. I really enjoy seeing and meeting people in person, to discuss the innovative projects they are working on, and that way I can hear about any training requests they might have first-hand.
It’s clear that people are eager to learn: sometimes they suggest certain licenses and programs that would help them to develop in a particular field, sometimes I’m shown engaging demos on cutting-edge solutions such as biometrics. I am always inspired by their passion for innovation. It’s a privilege to work alongside such forward-thinking professionals, and we are proud to support their continuous growth.
Between the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025, we conducted a Global Skills Analysis to identify and develop the key business-critical skills needed to achieve our strategic objectives.
Working closely with Global Business Partners, we asked teams to define the top three skills their organization needed to develop in order to achieve their strategic priorities.
We actively encourage and support international mobility, and many of our top leaders have moved across countries and roles too
After a deep analysis, we categorized the most in-demand skills to address potential gaps. Among the top soft skills identified were effective and tailored communication, storytelling and impactful presentations, influencing without authority, and consultative sales skills.
On the technical side, the most in-demand areas included Azure Learning, Cloud Fundamentals, FinOps, Skube, and AI Academy. We are now developing and aligning learning initiatives based on these priorities to support our teams in the upskilling needed to achieve Amadeus’ strategic goals.
At the same time, as we continue to grow through M&A, we are integrating new talent, exchanging knowledge, and bringing in fresh perspectives that enhance our collective expertise. This multicultural exchange strengthens our talent pool, introducing new ways of working and further enriching our skills landscape.
In 2024, we offered a range of powerful training programs, with the top 10 reflecting strong engagement in both participation and learning hours. I’d like to highlight SHINE and Unleash the Geek as two that have had a strong impact. SHINE focuses on leadership development, preparing our employees to be future leaders. We launched this course for the first time last year, with 19% of our Senior Managers receiving the training.
Unleash The Geek is a technical program – it’s a yearly Amadeus coding game dedicated to Amadeus engineers! Last year, 1,200 engineers took part, submitting their code to compete in the game developed for Amadeus by our partner CodinGame. It’s a very popular event that receives great feedback and engagement from the participants.
These two courses are an illustration of the balance that we are permanently seeking between hard and soft skills. Both are critical.
There is nothing more rewarding as a leader than seeing team members grow professionally, evolve, and progress in their careers. I feel enormously proud of the success of our employees, and it’s through their success and development that we continue to grow and succeed as a company.