While 40% of organisations believe that they have a gap in skills because of less retention rate, 26% believe it is due to recruitment of under-qualified employees, a survey on ‘Closing the skill gap of 2023’ by Wiley revealed. Furthermore, 41% of companies struck employee development initiatives and options as the prime cause of the skill gap. This is followed by 38% companies lacking in-house resources for training and development, and 36% on leadership support or awareness about skill disparities.
According to the Wiley report, 69% out of 600 human resources professionals said their organisation has a gap in skills in 2022-23. When compared with results of a similar study in 2021, this is up by 55%. In addition, 35% of companies agreed that their compensation packages are not competitive enough, the report suggested. A shift in company strategy or product offering is also considered as a cause of the gap by 33% of the professionals, as per the report.
Interestingly, 44% of the respondents found it difficult to find suitable candidates and said that it takes longer time, while 41% believed compensation or employee benefits are needed for retention and additional incentives are required to fill positions. “C-level executives are increasingly concerned, as 68% feel their organisation has a gap of skills, up from 60% in 2021,” the report read. Only 12% of respondents who believe recent graduates are unprepared, often have concerns about a candidate’s unrealistic expectations about the role and lack of skills, it said.
Furthermore, according to the report, although companies seem to have shifted to tech-based practices, 33% believers cited slow adaptation, or incapability to adopt technology changes is one of the prime reasons for skill gaps. The HR professionals believe that 42% of the most needed soft and durable skills include problem-solving, 36% include time management, 35% – ability to adapt to change, and 34% include leadership.