UK employees appear optimistic about government plans to close the skills gap, new research has revealed, with just over half agreeing that upskilling and apprentice schemes are the most effective ways of bridging the deficit.
The study, by professional skills and insights firm O’Reilly, did, however, find that learning and development was not discussed or measured as part of performance reviews for nearly a third (30%) of UK employees.
The responses of the 2,000 employees consulted showed that workers had a more a positive outlook on proposed plans to close the skills gap than business leaders who, according to data from In-Comm’s Training Barometer, lacked confidence in the government’s ability to close the current skills gap, with 61% unclear about what Skills England has been set up to do.
Apprenticeships and skills
Multiverse to open up 15,000 apprenticeships
O’Reilly’s survey revealed that more than half (53%) of UK employees believed access to flexible learning opportunities to upskill or reskill the workforce would work well when it came to closing the skills gap. Although almost a third (31%) of employees recognised the importance of higher education in closing the skills gap, nearly two in five (39%) said increased investment in apprenticeship schemes would have a greater impact.
“The first Skills England report highlighted that the nationwide skills gap continues to grow”, said Alexia Pedersen, SVP International at O’Reilly. “As many young people question the financial viability of higher education, Learning at Work Week provides an important reminder for employers that continuous, in-the-flow-of-work learning opportunities offer an alternative path into high-demand careers. Particularly in fields such as AI, cybersecurity, and cloud computing.”
She continued: “At the same time, employees should feel empowered to drive forward their own learning, building skills for the future that will make them an invaluable asset to their organisation. This joint responsibility will be key to creating a highly skilled workforce that keeps British businesses at the forefront of their industries globally.”
O’Reilly research also highlighted a persistent gender gap in how employers support digital skills development. While over half of male employees (60%) felt supported by their employer in developing digital skills, this dropped to just 52% for women – a disparity that risked slowing efforts to close the digital skills gap across the UK.
Previous O’Reilly research surveyed 500 employers in large UK companies with more than 250 employees. The results showed that employers consider digital upskilling to be more cost-effective than expanding headcount to address skills shortages. Skills most in demand included AI, cybersecurity, cloud, and software architecture. Despite this, the latest O’Reilly research suggests UK employers are failing to measure the impact of their L&D investments.
Employees should feel empowered to drive forward their own learning, building skills for the future that will make them an invaluable asset to their organisation” – Alexia Pedersen, SVP International at O’Reilly
For example, more than a quarter (27%) of UK employees confirmed there were no clear expectations or structured support for them to leverage the L&D opportunities available to them. More than one in 10 (14%) UK employees said L&D was not connected to their performance reviews. A further 16% said L&D was rarely or never discussed in their performance reviews.
Other key findings included that while most (74%) UK employees believed their organisation had increased its use of workplace technologies over the past year, a third (33%) said their employer had offered the same or fewer tech-related L&D opportunities over the same period.
When asked what technical L&D opportunities appealed to them most, UK employees showed an interest in generative AI (43%), automation and machine learning (35%), robotic process automation (16%), and quantum computing (13%) topics. However, more than a third (34%) said a lack of time prevented them from pursuing tech-focused learning opportunities. Almost one in five (19%) employees also said they lack access to learning materials at their point of need.
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
Latest HR job opportunities on Personnel Today
Browse more human resources jobs
