Gitnux/Report 2026

Upskilling And Reskilling In The Consulting Industry Statistics

With McKinsey projecting that by 2027, 85% of consulting roles will require reskilling in AI, the page connects that looming shift to what firms are already doing, from Deloitte’s $50B annual upskilling spend forecast by 2028 to the 28% higher project win rates and 15% revenue growth tied to upskilling in 2023. It also weighs the uncomfortable gaps consultants are reporting, like only 18% proficiency in quantum computing knowledge at Deloitte and cybersecurity reskilling completion rates clearing 85% in just 58% of US firms in 2023.
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Upskilling And Reskilling In The Consulting Industry Statistics
Leah KesslerWritten by Leah Kessler·Edited by Nathan Caldwell·Fact-checked by Yumi Nakamura
Last verified Jul 4, 2026
Verified via a 4-step process
01Source

Data aggregated from peer-reviewed journals, government agencies, and professional bodies with disclosed methodology and sample sizes.

02Verify

Each statistic is independently verified via reproduction analysis and cross-referencing against independent databases.

03Grade

Figures are graded by cross-model consensus. Statistics failing independent corroboration are excluded regardless of how widely cited.

04Cite

Every figure carries a primary source. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates so the report can be cited.

Read our full methodology →

Statistics that fail independent corroboration are excluded.

Next review Jan 2027
In 2027, McKinsey expects 85% of consulting roles to require reskilling in AI, a stark shift from what many teams were hired to do just a few years ago. At the same time, firms are already putting hours and budgets behind the change, including $50B of annual upskilling spend forecast by Deloitte by 2028 and 72% of consulting firms adopting mandatory digital transformation training in 2023. Put together, the statistics raise a practical question: are these programs closing the right gaps fast enough across cloud, cybersecurity, ESG analytics, and even quantum knowledge?

Key Takeaways

  • 72% of consulting firms in 2023 implemented mandatory upskilling programs for digital transformation skills, with an average of 40 hours per employee annually
  • Globally, 65% of Big Four consulting employees participated in reskilling initiatives targeting cloud computing by mid-2023
  • 81% of strategy consulting firms like BCG reported over 70% employee engagement in sustainability upskilling courses in 2022-2023
  • By 2027, 85% of consulting roles will require reskilling in AI, per McKinsey projections
  • Deloitte forecasts $50B annual upskilling spend in consulting by 2028, driven by genAI
  • BCG predicts 60% workforce reskilling in sustainability by 2030 for net-zero clients
  • 67% of consulting firms identified a 35% skill gap in AI/ML among mid-level consultants in 2023 surveys
  • 82% of Deloitte consultants reported gaps in quantum computing knowledge, with only 18% proficient in 2023
  • BCG surveys showed 59% of partners noting deficiencies in ESG analytics skills across 70% of teams in 2023
  • Firms with upskilling saw 28% higher project win rates and 15% revenue growth in 2023
  • Deloitte reported 35% productivity boost post-reskilling in AI-driven consulting deliveries 2023
  • BCG clients noted 42% faster delivery times after consultant reskilling in digital twins 2023
  • Global consulting firms allocated an average of $12,500 per employee for upskilling in 2023, totaling $45B industry-wide
  • Deloitte invested $2.1B in reskilling programs for 150,000+ consultants in fiscal 2023
  • BCG committed 5% of revenue ($1.8B) to digital upskilling across 30,000 employees in 2023

Consulting firms are rapidly upskilling and reskilling, investing billions to close major AI, cyber, and digital gaps.

Related reading

01 · Category

Current Adoption And Participation23 stats

01
72% of consulting firms in 2023 implemented mandatory upskilling programs for digital transformation skills, with an average of 40 hours per employee annually
02
Globally, 65% of Big Four consulting employees participated in reskilling initiatives targeting cloud computing by mid-2023
03
81% of strategy consulting firms like BCG reported over 70% employee engagement in sustainability upskilling courses in 2022-2023
04
In the US consulting sector, 58% of firms had reskilling completion rates exceeding 85% for cybersecurity training programs in 2023
05
69% of European consulting practices integrated AI ethics upskilling into 90% of their workforce training by Q4 2023
06
54% of mid-tier consulting firms achieved 60% workforce coverage in agile methodology reskilling programs during 2023
07
Among top 50 consulting firms, 77% mandated reskilling for data science skills, covering 75% of analysts in 2023
08
63% of consulting firms in Asia-Pacific reported 50+ hours of upskilling per consultant on blockchain tech in 2023
09
49% of boutique consultancies had full-team participation in DEI upskilling modules by end-2023
10
In 2023, 76% of management consulting leaders tracked upskilling via digital platforms for 80% of staff
11
74% of consulting firms plan to expand upskilling budgets by 20% in 2024
12
61% of PwC teams completed hybrid work reskilling modules in 2023
13
83% of Accenture analysts upskilled in prompt engineering for genAI in Q3 2023
14
52% of KPMG partners engaged in leadership reskilling for remote teams 2023
15
66% of Bain consultants reskilled in climate modeling tools in 2023
16
48% of mid-sized firms achieved 90% completion in DevOps reskilling 2023
17
79% of McKinsey associates participated in foresight planning upskilling 2023
18
55% of European boutiques focused reskilling on GDPR 2.0 compliance 2023
19
70% of US firms integrated upskilling in performance reviews for 2023 cycles
20
62% of global consultancies used micro-credentials for upskilling 85% juniors 2023
21
59% of APAC consulting firms upskilled in supply chain resilience 2023
22
85% Big Four completion rate for ESG certification programs 2023
23
71% strategy firms reskilled in scenario planning tools 2023
Interpretation

Current Adoption And Participation Interpretation

As of 2023, current adoption and participation in consulting is strongly driven by widespread, high involvement, with 72% of firms running mandatory digital transformation upskilling programs for an average of about 40 hours and 65% of Big Four employees already participating in cloud reskilling initiatives by mid year.

03 · Category

Identified Skill Gaps20 stats

01
67% of consulting firms identified a 35% skill gap in AI/ML among mid-level consultants in 2023 surveys
02
82% of Deloitte consultants reported gaps in quantum computing knowledge, with only 18% proficient in 2023
03
BCG surveys showed 59% of partners noting deficiencies in ESG analytics skills across 70% of teams in 2023
04
PwC found 71% skill shortage in cybersecurity for 65% of consulting engagements in 2023
05
Accenture reported 44% of workforce lacking advanced data visualization skills in consulting projects 2023
06
EY identified 68% gap in sustainable supply chain expertise among 55% of analysts in 2023
07
KPMG noted 53% deficiency in robotic process automation skills for 80% of operational consultants 2023
08
Bain revealed 61% consultants untrained in Web3 technologies, affecting 72% of innovation projects 2023
09
Oliver Wyman surveys indicated 47% gap in behavioral analytics for client advisory roles in 2023
10
Gartner consulting data showed 75% lacking proficiency in generative AI tools among juniors 2023
11
56% of firms reported 42% gap in edge computing skills among engineers 2023
12
64% skill deficit in NLP for client sentiment analysis in marketing consultancies 2023
13
73% of operations consultants lacked IoT integration expertise 2023
14
39% proficiency rate in federated learning, gap of 61% in AI teams 2023
15
51% gap in carbon accounting skills for 67% sustainability advisors 2023
16
69% deficiency in zero-trust architecture knowledge across IT consultancies 2023
17
58% consultants untrained in digital twins for manufacturing clients 2023
18
46% gap in explainable AI for regulatory compliance roles 2023
19
77% shortage in talent for autonomous systems consulting 2023
20
63% lacking skills in tokenization for finance reskilling needs 2023
Interpretation

Identified Skill Gaps Interpretation

Across 2023 surveys, the most urgent identified skill gaps in consulting were concentrated in fast-evolving tech and analytics areas, with large majorities reporting shortages such as 82% citing quantum computing gaps and 71% flagging cybersecurity shortages.

More related reading

04 · Category

Impact And Outcomes20 stats

01
Firms with upskilling saw 28% higher project win rates and 15% revenue growth in 2023
02
Deloitte reported 35% productivity boost post-reskilling in AI-driven consulting deliveries 2023
03
BCG clients noted 42% faster delivery times after consultant reskilling in digital twins 2023
04
PwC upskilled teams achieved 29% client satisfaction uplift in cyber projects 2023
05
Accenture's reskilling led to 22% reduction in project overruns across 500+ engagements 2023
06
EY found 31% increase in innovation patents filed by upskilled consultants 2023
07
KPMG reskilling correlated with 27% lower attrition rates in high-skill areas 2023
08
Bain reported 36% margin improvement from agile upskilling implementations 2023
09
Oliver Wyman saw 24% higher cross-selling success post-behavioral reskilling 2023
10
Gartner tracked 33% employee promotion rates doubling after upskilling certification 2023
11
41% employee retention improvement post-upskilling in consulting 2023
12
McKinsey upskilled teams delivered 30% more value in transformations 2023
13
Deloitte's genAI reskilling boosted billable hours by 18% per consultant 2023
14
BCG reported 26% faster market entry for clients via upskilled teams 2023
15
PwC saw 34% reduction in errors in data-heavy projects post-reskilling 2023
16
Accenture achieved 28% higher NPS from upskilled delivery teams 2023
17
EY's sustainability upskilling led to 39% more green deals won 2023
18
KPMG noted 23% increase in repeat business from reskilled cyber experts 2023
19
Bain's design thinking reskilling yielded 31% innovation score uplift 2023
20
Oliver Wyman tracked 25% leadership pipeline growth via upskilling 2023
Interpretation

Impact And Outcomes Interpretation

For the impact and outcomes angle, the 2023 results show that upskilling and reskilling are delivering measurable business gains, including up to 42% faster delivery times and 28% higher project win rates alongside improvements like a 35% productivity boost after AI-driven reskilling.

05 · Category

Investment In Upskilling19 stats

01
Global consulting firms allocated an average of $12,500per employee for upskilling in 2023, totaling $45B industry-wide
02
Deloitte invested $2.1B in reskilling programs for 150,000+ consultants in fiscal 2023
03
BCG committed 5% of revenue ($1.8B) to digital upskilling across 30,000 employees in 2023
04
PwC's global upskilling budget reached $1.5B, focusing on AI for 295,000 staff in 2023
05
Accenture spent $900M on learning platforms, training 700,000+ on emerging tech in 2023
06
EY allocated €1.2B ($1.3B) for reskilling 400,000 professionals in sustainability 2023
07
KPMG invested $800M in partnerships with Coursera/ edX for 65,000 consultants 2023
08
Bain & Company directed 4.2% of fees ($450M) to reskilling in agile and design thinking 2023
09
Oliver Wyman budgeted $200M for VR-based upskilling simulations in 2023
10
Gartner estimated consulting ROI from upskilling at 250% return on $10K per employee spend 2023
11
Average ROI on upskilling investments reached 320% for AI programs in consulting 2023
12
EY's $1.1B upskilling fund trained 350K on data ethics in 2023
13
3.8% of revenues funneled into reskilling by top strategy firms 2023 ($1.2B total)
14
PwC partnered with Udacity for $600M nanodegree programs in 2023
15
Accenture's $1B+ spend on internal academies reached 500K learners 2023
16
KPMG US invested $450M in immersive learning tech for 55K staff 2023
17
Bain allocated $300M for client-co-developed reskilling curricula 2023
18
Mid-tier firms averaged $8K per head on upskilling, 25% YoY increase 2023
19
Gartner clients saw 180% ROI from personalized upskilling paths 2023
Interpretation

Investment In Upskilling Interpretation

Across the consulting industry, investment in upskilling is scaling rapidly with firms collectively spending $45B in 2023 and leading players like Deloitte adding $2.1B for reskilling, while BCG and PwC alone directed $1.8B and $1.5B toward digital and AI training for tens to hundreds of thousands of employees.
report visual · Projection

Upskilling & Reskilling Momentum in Consulting

A majority of consulting firms are already implementing mandatory upskilling and participating in reskilling—while more firms forecast further expansion across upcoming years.

72 Percent
Start
-11.09%
CAGR · 4y
45 Percent
Projected
20232027
Reference

Cite This Report

This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.

APA
Leah Kessler. (2026, February 13). Upskilling And Reskilling In The Consulting Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/upskilling-and-reskilling-in-the-consulting-industry-statistics
MLA
Leah Kessler. "Upskilling And Reskilling In The Consulting Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/upskilling-and-reskilling-in-the-consulting-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Leah Kessler. 2026. "Upskilling And Reskilling In The Consulting Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/upskilling-and-reskilling-in-the-consulting-industry-statistics.

Sources & references

27 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level

mckinsey.comwww2.deloitte.combcg.compwc.comaccenture.comey.comkpmg.combain.comoliverwyman.comgartner.comconsulting.useuroconsulting.reportshrm.orgcoursera.orgidc.commarketingdive.comforbes.comweforum.orgcsoonline.commanufacturingdive.comreuters.comfintechmagazine.comnewsroom.accenture.comconsultancy.ukconsultancy.asiacfainstitute.orgstrategy-business.com