Connecting workforce strategy with skills, mobility and knowledge

Preparing people for the Telco-to-TechCo transition

Telecoms operators are reshaping their businesses around software, cloud, data, AI and new digital services. Workforce planning must therefore look beyond current roles and headcount to understand which capabilities the organization will need, where gaps may emerge, and how existing employees can contribute to the transition.

The challenge connects several workforce decisions that are often handled separately. Operators need to anticipate future roles and skills, identify internal candidates for emerging opportunities, retain critical organizational knowledge and give employees relevant development pathways. Making those decisions consistently requires a forward-looking view of both business demand and individual capability, supported by appropriate human oversight and data governance.

The Catalyst project, CultureConnect: Predictive workforce intelligence - Phase II, proposes AI-powered workforce intelligence built around two interconnected Digital Twins. By bringing organizational requirements and employee capabilities together, it aims to help operators make more informed decisions as they move from traditional telco operating models toward technology-driven organizations.

Two Digital Twins connect strategy and individual capability

The ‘Organization Twin’ provides an enterprise-level view of strategic workforce demand, future roles, required skills, capability gaps, workforce scenarios and critical knowledge risks. The ‘Employee Twin’ provides an evolving view of individual skills, experience, learning history, career aspirations and development needs. Connecting the two creates a shared basis for workforce planning and employee development.

The solution organizes this intelligence through four capabilities:

• SEE anticipates future workforce demand, identifies emerging roles and skills, assesses capability gaps and simulates workforce scenarios.
• MOVE matches existing and adjacent skills to business opportunities, supports internal mobility and helps assemble capability-based teams.
• PRESERVE identifies critical knowledge, assesses knowledge-loss risks, identifies potential successors and supports structured knowledge transfer.
• BUILD recommends career pathways, targeted learning and real-world development opportunities to help employees close skill gaps.

An AI-native architecture connects these capabilities with existing HR, learning, recruitment and project-management systems. This allows workforce intelligence to inform decisions across planning, mobility, succession and development without removing human judgement or the need for responsible data governance.

TM Forum assets structure workforce transformation

The Catalyst uses the AI Workforce for the Future playbook IG1492 as its central industry reference. IG1492A, AI Workforce for the Future: Reality and Risks, supports consideration of risk and resilience, while IG1492B, Digital Employee v1.0, provides a human-machine workforce architecture. IG1492C, AI Talent and Skills Matrix, supplies a framework for capabilities, competencies and skills.

The project also draws on the TPAC Levers of Change with Metrics, IG1409 Business Value metrics and the Digital Maturity Model GB997A, version 5. Together, these assets connect workforce change with business value and digital maturity, helping operators assess not only which capabilities they need, but how workforce transformation contributes to wider organizational change.

Measuring mobility, capability and knowledge continuity

For operators, the intended outcomes include better alignment between corporate strategy and workforce capabilities, earlier identification of emerging skill requirements, stronger use of existing talent, improved succession planning and more targeted learning and career development. The solution is also intended to strengthen workforce scenario planning for digital transformation, automation and changing operating models.

The Catalyst can evaluate impact through workforce-planning cycle time, time to identify suitable internal talent, internal role-fill rate, critical-role coverage, knowledge-transfer completion, learning-to-skill-gap alignment and employee career-development engagement.

“CultureConnect II addresses a critical challenge facing telecommunications operators as they transition from traditional Telco models to technology-driven organizations: ensuring that workforce capabilities evolve alongside business strategy. By connecting organizational workforce needs with individual employee capabilities through AI-powered intelligence and Digital Twins, the solution has the potential to improve strategic workforce planning, unlock internal talent, strengthen knowledge continuity, and support personalized employee development.” said Ruth Marya, Manager Digital Support at Telin.

A reusable model for a future-ready workforce

For the wider telecoms industry, the project offers a reusable approach to AI-enabled workforce intelligence and capability-based transformation. Its reference models and implementation guidance are intended to support operators facing similar Telco-to-TechCo transitions and to create greater consistency across strategic workforce planning, talent mobility, succession and employee development.

For employees, the intended benefits include clearer visibility of career opportunities and transferable skills, more personalized learning pathways and stronger support for internal progression and continuous reskilling. The project therefore links organizational readiness with employee opportunity, helping businesses and people adapt together as AI, automation and digital roles reshape telecommunications work.

Meet the team at Innovate Asia in Bangkok, 17-19 November 2026.