Hindustan Times (Jalandhar)

70% profession­als feel skill gaps hamper workplace productivi­ty

- Press Trust of India letters@hindustant­imes.com

About 70 per cent of employees feel there is a gap between the skills they have and the skills they actually need to best perform their job, according to a study by job site SCIKEY Market Network.

The survey further revealed that 70 per cent profession­als interviewe­d feel that their organisati­on is either already facing this issue of skill shortage or is expected to encounter this as a major challenge in the next 2-3 years.

Only 10 per cent of the respondent­s felt that the knowledge they acquired in their educationa­l institutio­ns has proved to be useful in what they do today, the study noted.

The study is based on an online survey with over 2,500 respondent­s from across industries including IT/IT services, finance, FMCG, and others.

According to the study 35 per cent employees felt that the skill shortage can lead to loss of revenue for businesses, while 45 per cent also said it leads to poor quality of work.

Employee growth and productivi­ty has a direct correlatio­n to organisati­onal growth and productivi­ty, it said.

Moreover, it found that 70 per cent of the respondent­s felt that this can severely hamper the productivi­ty of the business and 40 per cent feel it can stagnate the business expansion.

With the transition to the virtual mode of working, 60 per cent respondent­s said there is an urgent need to address this issue in the field of IT and 33 per cent for Data Analytics, it stated.

The survey also revealed that sectors such as Data Analytics, Web Design and IT are currently facing or are likely to face skill shortage in the future, which contribute­d to 60 per cent, 38 per cent, 33 per cent, respective­ly.

Sectors such as Research and Developmen­t, Customer Service, Talent Management and Recruitmen­t and Finance also recognised expected shortage of skills in the near future at 28 per cent, 20 per cent, 29 per cent and 15 per cent, respective­ly.

The survey revealed that the respondent­s felt that the skill gap resulted in major loss of productivi­ty (70 per cent) followed by higher rate of staff turnover (33 per cent), lower morale (40 per cent), inferior work quality (45 per cent), inability to expand business (40 per cent) and loss of revenue (35 per cent).

Addressing the situation is paramount for organisati­ons and the survey highlighte­d that companies are taking several steps to curb this situation, including in-house training academy (45 per cent), frequent workshops and sessions to impart skills (53 per cent) and providing resource library to provide employees with relevant material (23 per cent) and many simply rely on employees self-learning (20 per cent).

THE INCREASED SKILL GAP THAT PLAGUED THE JOB MARKET HAS BROUGHT IN CHALLENGES FOR BOTH EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES

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