How does it affect me?
Skills gaps represent a real business cost - £165,000 per year for a typical small business of 50 employees, according to accountants Ernst and Young. According to the Learning and Skills Council, one in five organisations report skills gaps in their workforce, and some 1.5 million workers were described by employers as not being fully proficient in their role, with a particular deficit in ‘soft skills’ of communication, customer handling, team working and problem solving. Learning and development – not necessarily through classroom-based training – can offer the route to bridging these gaps and creating a workforce which is more flexible, committed, and productive.
Even if your workforce has the current set of skills needed, changing patterns of work, technological change and globalisation mean you need to consider what skills the organisation will need in future to achieve its vision. The majority of organisations in a recent CIPD survey felt that future demands on the organisation would demand a higher level of skills (36%), a different type of skill (26%) or a broader range of skills (26%). 94% believed that upskilling their employees would be vital to their future success.
Ultimately, investing in the skills of your people through learning and development is about making the most of the talent in the organisation. As well as ensuring people perform effectively in their current roles, it makes business sense to develop people so they can take on new responsibilities, and become future leaders and managers.
Investing in development offers an opportunity to overcome practical barriers, not just in the area of skills, but in recruitment and retention too. According to Manpower, “paid courses and education” are the most valued employer benefit after the remuneration package, cited by six in ten employees. Since CIPD report that some 80% of employers expect to have recruitment and retention difficulties in the coming year, offering attractive development opportunities may be one way to become an employer of choice in the current labour market, and ensure you keep the talented people you already have.
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