Deloitte will spend $1.4 billion to provide its employees with access to more professional development resources, particularly in the areas of leadership and IT.

The investment will be made as part of an initiative called Project 120.

Deloitte employs about 412,000 people worldwide who generated $59.3 billion in revenue for the firm during its most recent fiscal year. To keep its business operations running smoothly, Deloitte needs to continuously hire new talent as well as actively work to retain existing employees.

That’s easier said than done at the scale in which Deloitte operates. Providing access to professional development courses is a reliable and, just as importantly, scalable way for a firm the size of Deloitte to strengthen employee engagement.

The $1.4 billion that Deloitte plans to spend as part of Project 120 will be invested in several areas.

First, the firm plans to expand its Deloitte University network of employee upskilling hubs. The network consists of seven campuses where employees, including new hires, can participate in training courses and network with peers. 

Equipping Deloitte staffers with more tech skills is also a key priority of Project 120. Deloitte will ramp up efforts to train employees in the use of technologies such as AI, analytics tools and work automation software.

Quantum computing is on Deloitte’s technology training roadmap as well.

An important aspect of Project 120 is that the upskilling programs Deloitte plans to roll out will be personalized for employees’ requirements. To understand what those requirements are, Deloitte ran a series of internal surveys and interviewed more than 100 executives.

Deloitte collected more than 150,000 data points as part of the undertaking. It has already used a portion of that data to create a personalized training program for executives.

Project 120 is “not just about business performance,” Deloitte US CEO Joe Ucuzoglu stated in prepared remarks. “It’s about enabling our people to feel even more fulfilled and driven by our work and our purpose, which in turn drives better business outcomes.”

The heavy emphasis that Project 120 places on technology training is a notable aspect of the initiative. 

Deloitte is a member of the Big Four, the industry group comprising the world’s four largest accounting firms by revenue. Deloitte’s main specialty has historically been auditing publicly traded companies to ensure their financial statements are accurate. 

Nowadays, however, the firm generates a significant portion of its revenue from technology services. Deloitte’s consulting division, which is responsible for delivering its technology services, grew revenues at a rate nearly three times as fast as its auditing and  assurance business during the 2022 fiscal year.

Because of how important IT has become to Deloitte’s business, equipping employees with tech skills is a particularly important priority for the firm. It’s likely that a sizable percentage of the $1.4 billion the firm has set aside for Project 120 will go towards IT upskilling. 

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