As seen with the CCP MMO Eve Online, the idea of learning skills is a polarizing topic. It presents "long-haul" players with a carrot of quicker advancement, but can drive shorter term players away with the steep initial investment. Players end up creating formulas for the "best" progression path for a specific goal and people who don't follow it are considered to "waste time".
I didn't like that attitude in EVE and learning skills in that game are now a thing of the past. I think it would behoove the developers to take a look back at the lessons that game can provide and eliminate the learning skills.
Feel free to disagree, but I can't really see a logical reason to have them in the game.