- Unveils ‘Skill Builders Versus Skill Buyers’ report exploring attitudes towards staff development
- Majority of UK business leaders identify their organisations as skill builders – however, one third admit to having no formal strategy to achieve this goal
Skillsoft, a pioneer in the field of learning and talent management, has launched its ‘Skill Builders Versus Skill Buyers’ report, investigating how UK businesses are approaching the skills deficit and the responses organisations have to workforce development challenges, and recruitment.
In conjunction with industry researcher, Censuswide, Skillsoft spoke with more than 500 business leaders to gather information on staff training and talent development within their organisations. Many UK businesses are reporting that since the financial crisis of 2008 an endemic skills shortage is hampering market growth efforts. In order to combat this, organisations are resorting to external recruits in a bid to hire in new skills and talent.
Skill Builders Versus Skill Buyers key highlights:
- Building for performance – 86 percent of UK businesses identify their organisations as skill builders, but in truth 31 percent have no formal programme in place
- High prevalence of ‘skill buyer’ behaviour: over half of respondents (55 percent) confirmed they are more likely to recruit externally to address skills shortages
- Buying for growth: Just 20 percent of businesses have aligned Learning & Development (L&D) programmes to organisational growth
“As the business landscape is focused so much on growth, there has never been a better time to investigate the skills deficit and how important talent development is to organisational success,” said Kevin Young, Managing Director, EMEA, Skillsoft. “To create a highly skilled workforce that will continue to drive productivity, business leaders need to look within the organisation first. Ensuring existing employees are being taught the correct skills to develop them into leaders will not only boost employee performance but future proof the business.”
The report found that UK business leaders widely appreciate the need for skill building. 86 percent of respondents identified themselves as investing in internal employee development to fill the necessary gaps throughout the organisation. However, in reality, the L&D programmes in place tend to be reactive responses to specific problems, and just one-fifth of employers expected to fill open roles internally. In order to stay competitive within the wider business market businesses are actually operating as ‘Skill Buyers’ to boost the workforce, especially at C-level positions, with more than 26 percent of organisations expecting to look externally to fill leadership roles.
L&D programmes are widely recognised as a means for improved employee satisfaction. 66 percent of businesses surveyed by Skillsoft identified staff motivation as a reason to implement L&D into their organisation, while 70 percent agreed these programmes indicated clear career development paths. In order to boost organisational performance businesses need to align workforce skills with broader marketplace goals to produce better, more strategic business outcomes.
“The pressures of new business innovations mean today’s leaders need to quickly adapt their L&D programmes,” added Young. “Skillsoft has uncovered that businesses which successfully integrate learning throughout their organisation will deepen their talent pool at every level, creating an agile, productive and creative workforce. To support Skillsoft’s ever expanding portfolio of development solutions in a landscape in a constant state of flux, we continue to prioritise skill building to address these challenges and ensure businesses remain productive and profitable.”