Skills gaps, or skills shortages (as I like to refer to them), have long been identified across the workforce in the UK. Pre-Covid, reports from across a range of industries suggested that the required skills to fulfil modern work were starting to become scarce. A report from the Learning and Work Institute (L&W) found that the UK skills shortage will end up costing the country as much as £120 billion by 2030. The future success of the UK economy relies on how we address the skills shortage. Without the modern skills to face the future, businesses will struggle to compete, and the UK economy as a whole will suffer.

Key skills needed in the workplace today include digital literacy, data literacy and critical thinking

The findings of the report are yet further proof that now is not the time to ease off the accelerator of change but to go further, and faster to get the right people with the right skills, in the right job. And could prove a fundamental element in re-establishing the UK economy for generations to come.

Modern skills are seriously lacking

The thing is, we do have the talent in the UK, but our challenge is ensuring this talent is nurtured and given access to the tools to gain the skills required in today's workplace. Many factors contribute to skills gaps, but perhaps the most prevalent is chronic under-investment in applicable workplace skills development – the same L&W report identified an urgent need to focus on improving transferable skills early on in career development. Key skills needed in the workplace today include digital literacy, data literacy and critical thinking, and these can be as – or more –  important than traditional skills and experience. More often than not, these new skills aren’t being developed enough through traditional education. This is where workplaces have a key role to play in the preparation of employees for today’s workplace.

Tackling the skills crisis

Many UK workers are unaware of the scale of reskilling they require, which in turn, makes it harder for employers to understand the extent of the skills gap across their workforce. Implementing staff assessments can provide employers with a full data set of test results to help identify the strength of skills among their employees and where gaps lie. This helps inform better decisions on training, recruitment and career development. Armed with this crucial data, they can deliver relevant and engaging on-the-job training and ensure that they have the skills they need to thrive. Schools and universities, along with organisations that offer learning and certification outside the formal education system like the British Computer Society (BCS) have a key role to play in providing a multitude of industry-relevant training courses to pupils which build the fundamental skills for future generations to implement in their working career.

Many employers are developing internal certification programs which incentivise employees to attain useful skills

Equipping the workforce with future-proof skills

The right training is essential for equipping the workforce with the skills it needs for the future, but generic, irrelevant training won’t deliver for employers and can demotivate the team members that take part. By conducting online skills assessments before training takes place, leaders can gather insights on the skills employees need to work on most - helping cut through the confusion and make better decisions on training, promotions, team structures and recruitment. However, employers must be able to trust the results they are getting from assessments, and this requires a fair and accessible platform that deters cheating or test fraud. It might be as simple as using a randomised question function so that no two people ever sit the same assessment. Or when stakes are high, a remote proctoring service flags any anomalies for future review.

Retaining talent is key

As well as the skills crisis, organisations are struggling to retain talent. There is strong evidence, and I can attest to this that employees prefer working for employers who develop their skills. Many employers are developing internal certification programs which incentivise employees to attain useful skills. Providing certifications and assessments allows your organisation to have a competitive edge when it comes to recruiting (through the offer of professional development) and empowers employees to do more for your organisation.

Employers meanwhile urgently need to identify skills development and training priorities

Moving forward

The world of work has changed forever and it’s clear there is work to be done. Employees must embrace the skills they have and become more aware of those they don’t. Employers meanwhile urgently need to identify skills development and training priorities. With workers failing to grasp the nature of the ‘skills shake-up’ required, asking team members what support they need is clearly not going to cut it. Employers need to robustly measure the skills of their workforce with staff assessments to get a clear read of their training and development priorities.

Interested in this topic? Read Why lifelong learning is the key to closing the skills gap.