Skills at Scale: Building Organizations That Truly Learn | Sandra Loughlin

Sep 9, 2025

Sandra Loughlin, Chief Learning Scientist at EPAM Systems, shares her insights on transforming skills into pivotal assets for organizations. She distinguishes between learning and training, emphasizing the importance of active engagement. The conversation explores how stretch assignments catalyze real learning and how contextualizing skills can enhance their value. Loughlin also discusses leveraging data and AI to create dynamic learning environments, adapting to the evolving demands of the workforce, and fostering a true culture of learning at scale.

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INSIGHT

Learning Versus Training

Real learning is active and requires people to build knowledge themselves through practice and reflection.
Training is input-based and can be done to people, but it rarely produces deep, lasting learning.

ANECDOTE

Why Sandra Joined EPAM

Sandra moved from the University of Maryland to EPAM after discovering their unusual, effective people practices.
She was inspired by how engineers had built learning and HR practices through intuition and data without psychologists or HR experts initially.

INSIGHT

Skills Are One Part Of People Data

Skills matter but are only one element in data-driven decisions about people and work.
EPAM models people and work together, adding context, goals, and availability to skills data.

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For years, Dart doubted that companies could actually make skills the building blocks of work. They felt too abstract, too static, too disconnected from real daily work. But Sandra Loughlin proved that in some cases, skills can deliver real value. In this episode, Sandra explains why skills only matter in context, why stretch assignments drive real learning, and what it takes to build a true learning organization at scale.

Dr. Sandra Loughlin is Chief Learning Scientist at EPAM Systems. She holds a PhD in educational psychology from the University of Maryland and previously taught and led learning initiatives there.

In this episode, Dart and Sandra discuss:
- Why learning is different from training—and why it matters
- How EPAM connects skills to work
- Why skills only become powerful when grounded in context
- The role of stretch assignments in developing real capabilities
- How data and human agency work together at EPAM
- What it takes to keep a skills ontology fresh as work evolves
- Lessons for leaders building organizations that truly learn
- And other topics…

Dr. Sandra Loughlin is Chief Learning Scientist at EPAM Systems, a $5 billion global engineering and professional services company. At EPAM, she integrates learning science, organizational psychology, and data to help employees and clients develop the skills needed to succeed in a fast-changing world. She holds a PhD in educational psychology and learning analytics from the University of Maryland, where she also served as a faculty member and led transformational learning initiatives, and a master’s degree in education from Harvard University. Her work has been recognized for bridging cutting-edge learning research with large-scale business practice.

Resources Mentioned:
Get discounted tickets to the Responsive Conference, featuring past Work for Humans guests Bree Groff and Simone Stolzoff – September 17–18, Oakland, CA. Use code “11fold”: https://www.responsiveconference.com/tickets
Register to attend the UWEBC Conference, where Dart keynotes the HR track alongside Ethan Mollick and Nancy Giordano – September 30, University of Wisconsin: https://uwebc.wisc.edu/conference/registration/

Connect with Sandra:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandraloughlin/

Work with Dart:
Dart is the CEO and co-founder of the work design firm 11fold. Build work that makes employees feel alive, connected to their work, and focused on what’s most important to the business. Book a call at 11fold.com.