In boardrooms and strategy sessions around the world, “digital transformation” is everywhere. Cloud migration, AI, data-driven decision-making all sit firmly at the top of the agenda. The focus is usually on tools, platforms, and systems. What gets far less attention is the part that actually determines whether any of it works: people.

Too many organisations still treat digital transformation as a technology initiative. When training and retraining sit on the sidelines, the result is fragile progress at best. Even the most advanced systems struggle if the people expected to use them don’t feel confident, capable, or involved. Training isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s what keeps transformation moving.

The human side of digital change

Digital tools don’t change organisations on their own. People do. Yet training often arrives late in the process, if it arrives at all. A handful of webinars, a user guide, and an assumption that everyone will work it out as they go.

That approach rarely ends well. It creates frustration, low adoption, and quiet resistance. Over time, the gap between what the technology can do and how it’s actually used just keeps growing.

What’s needed is a shift in thinking. Instead of focusing purely on adoption, organisations need to help people adapt. That means investing in learning well beyond initial rollout. It means accepting that digital confidence is developed over time, not assumed. And it means recognising that transformation isn’t a single milestone, but an ongoing change in how people think and work together.

Why retraining matters more than ever

Retraining has become a strategic necessity. As automation reshapes roles and AI supports decision-making, skills date faster than they used to. The World Economic Forum suggests that half of today’s workforce will need reskilling by 2025. That figure can sound daunting, but it also points to a huge opportunity.

Organisations that take retraining seriously are already seeing the benefits. They’re identifying future skills early, creating internal learning pathways, and giving people room to move into new roles. The payoff goes beyond capability. It builds loyalty, resilience, and a culture where change feels possible rather than threatening.

Training builds trust, and trust enables change

Digital change can be unsettling. It raises real questions about relevance, job security, and where people fit in. When organisations invest in developing their people, not just upgrading systems, they send a clear signal that their workforce has a place in what comes next.

That signal matters. It builds trust. And trust is what makes people more willing to try new tools, question old habits, and contribute ideas rather than withdraw from change.

Making training part of the strategy

For leaders looking to embed training into digital transformation in a meaningful way, a few principles stand out:

• Build learning into the transformation roadmap from the start, not as an afterthought

• Design training with employees so it reflects real work, real challenges, and real priorities

• Support peer learning and digital champions to create momentum from within

• Measure what changes, not just who attended, including confidence, performance, and innovation

Putting people at the centre at DTG

At DTG, we see digital transformation as a human challenge as much as a technical one. That belief sits behind our growing range of digital culture training programmes, designed to support organisations wherever they are in their journey.

Our offerings include:

• Demystifying Digital, helping technology feel relevant and accessible across roles

• Digital Leadership, supporting leaders to guide change with clarity and confidence

• Industrial Cybersecurity, strengthening protection in increasingly connected environments

• Demystifying Sustainability and Sustainability Leadership, linking digital progress with environmental responsibility

• Knowledge Graph: Introduction and Implementation, enabling smarter use of data and insight

• Digital, Data and Alignment, connecting strategy, systems, and people in a practical way

Whether you’re taking first steps or accelerating change, our training is designed to strengthen capability, build confidence, and support a culture where digital transformation feels human-led and purposeful.

When organisations invest in training, they do more than update skill sets. They unlock potential. They turn transformation from a buzzword into everyday behaviour. And they remind us that even in a digital world, progress still starts with people.