The_Workforce_Skills_Gap_2024_240805_184436.pdf

The report gives an actually idea about the skillset gap we face with employment.

1. 12024
The State
of the
Workforce
Skills Gap
A Survey of 1000+ Corporate Professionals

2. 2
The way we work is changing. Technology is advancing
at a blistering pace-picking up speed, disrupting
old models of work, and reconfiguring the working
relationship between humans and machines.
Add to this a permanent move to flexible working
arrangements, major economic and geopolitical
disruptions, and growing social and environmental
pressures, and it becomes evident that we are in the
midst of a true paradigm shift.
It’s not only the way we work that’s evolving. These
forces are also changing job content, needed skills,
and which jobs are being displaced, according to the
World Economic Forum (WEF). Since 2015, skill sets for
jobs have changed by around 25%. By 2028, employers
estimate that 44% of workers’ skills will be disrupted.
Of all the macrotrends driving business transformation,
the adoption of new technologies like artificial
intelligence is the most influential, expected to drive
changes in over 86% of organizations, according to the
2023 WEF Future of Jobs Report. As new technologies
emerge and begin to dominate the future of work,
companies need to ensure their workforces are
properly equipped in order to remain competitive in
a globalized economy. Yet, there’s a dearth of talent.
According to Deloitte , organizations are struggling to
find the technical talent they need to drive innovation-
focused initiatives.
It’s not just technical skills that are increasingly in
demand. Cognitive skills like problem-solving and
creative thinking are seeing the largest growth. As
the pace of change accelerates, businesses need
to remain agile. Few could have predicted today’s
complex landscape of work; the way we’ll be working
even a year from now is equally unpredictable. It’s
no surprise then that organizations are prioritizing
fortifying their workforces with the critical thinking
capabilities required to adapt quickly and strategically.
Six in ten workers will require training before 2027,
according to the WEF, so organizations must fortify
talent development in both immediate and long-term
transformation plans. It’s more than a safety plan—
it’s a strategic imperative. The majority of the world’s
employees are quiet quitting, costing the global
economy $8.8 trillion dollars, according to Gallup .
This trend underscores the fact that employees are
disengaged at work, a problem that’s only going to get
worse as more skills become obsolete.
This retention problem will get expensive, fast. The cost
of replacing an employee ranges from half to twice an
employee’s salary. And since the labor market shows
no signs of improving, this cost is likely to increase.
There are still significantly more open positions than
potential employees according to the U.S. Bureau of
Labor, an imbalance that has been present since May
2021 and has only worsened since.
An investment in human capital is a clear-cut
move. Not only does training and development
drive employee engagement and improve retention
About the survey
The analysis in this report was compiled using
results from a survey of 1,031 U.S. corporate
professionals working at companies with at least
5,000 employees. The survey was conducted by
Centiment in December 2023 and included 510
organizational leaders with the title of Director and
above (referred to as “leaders” or “leadership” in
this report), and 521 junior-level employees with
the title of Manager or below (referred to as “junior
employees” in this report).
Executive summary
(thus decreasing recruitment and opportunity costs),
it also safeguards organizations and readies them
for the future landscape of work. This future may be
amorphous today, but we know one thing for sure: it
will undoubtedly be dominated by change.
Without immediate action, organizations will fall
behind. An underskilled workforce will be ill-equipped
to navigate a business environment that’s marked
by constant disruption. This outlook requires a high
degree of adaptability in order to mitigate risk and
drive continual innovation. Businesses must transform
their human capital into a competitive advantage by
investing in durable cross-functional skill development
that will withstand future market demands and
capitalize on new opportunities.
To aid organizational leaders in strategic workforce
transformation planning that will safeguard their
businesses for years to come, Springboard for Business
surveyed over 1,000 corporate professionals to
understand where their priorities lie, how skills gaps
are thwarting progress, and what employees are most
eager to learn.
FOR BUSINESS | State of the Workforce Skills Gap 2024

3. 3
Key findings
70% of leaders say there’s a
skills gap
The vast majority of large companies are operating
with an underskilled workforce . Over a third of leaders
are reporting limited innovation and growth as a
result, and one in five companies are having difficulty
keeping up with technological change.
Skills gaps are getting worse
Nearly 40% of leaders say that the skills gap at their
company has worsened in the last year and more than
one in three say the current shelf life of hard skills is
under two years.
Data analysis and project
management are the most
in demand hard skills
Artificial intelligence/machine learning is the
third most needed technical skill, with software
engineering coming in at a close fourth.
1
2 5
3
4
Companies are severely
lacking cognitive skills
Strategic thinking and problem-solving/
decision-making top the list as the business skills
companies need most, according to leadership.
Employees are burned out
63% of junior employees say they’ve experienced
burnout in the past year, and 40% of these
workers say that this burnout was severe.
FOR BUSINESS | State of the Workforce Skills Gap 2024

4. Workforce
Skills Gaps
FOR BUSINESS | State of the Workforce Skills Gap 2024

5. 5
U.S. companies are underskilled. 70% of corporate
leaders report a critical skills gap at their organization—
one that’s having a negative impact on
business performance.
Two industries in particular have above-average skills
gaps. In Financial Services, over 75% of leaders say
there’s a lack of skills, and in Tech, over 73% of
leaders agree.
70% of leaders say
there’s a skills gap
Among leadership, members of the C-suite are most
likely to think there’s a workforce skills gap that’s
thwarting organizational goals. Nearly 75% of C-level
executives surveyed here report a skills gap. Other
leadership groups are slightly more optimistic: 70%
of directors and 64% of VPs say their companies are
operating with a skills deficiency.
Do you believe there is a lack of skills (i.e. skills
gap) at your company that’s negatively impacting
business performance?
Figure 1
30%
No
70%
Yes
Leadership
FOR BUSINESS | State of the Workforce Skills Gap 2024

6. 6
Are you worried about losing your job because you won’t have the
right skills to succeed?
3% Yes, in the next year
8% Yes, in the next 2-3 years
11% Yes, in the next 4-5 years
78% No
Junior employees
are working with
confidence
There’s a major disconnect between how leaders view
their workforce’s skill sets and how junior employees
see their own capabilities. Nearly 60% of the junior
employees surveyed (at the Manager-level or below)
say the skills required for their jobs have not changed in
the past year (Figure 2).
Employees are starting 2024 with extreme self-
confidence when it comes to their capabilities, failing
to recognize blindspots. Despite a business landscape
that’s being actively reshaped by advancements in
technology and other macroeconomic pressures, junior
employees remain steadfast. 96% of these employees
feel like they can excel in their roles over the course of
the next year with their current skill set. (Figure 3).
Further, they feel a great sense of job security—at
least for now. 78% of junior employees are not worried
about losing their jobs because of skills obsolescence
anytime in the next five years. And only 11% of junior
employees fear losing their jobs sometime in the next
three years due to lacking the right skills. (Figure 4)
According to the WEF, 61% of workers will require
retraining by 2027 because the skills gap will widen as
technological advancements change the capabilities
required to succeed at work. This survey reveals that
corporate leaders are acutely aware of this reality;
junior employees are not.
With the breakneck speed of business transformation,
junior employees will seemingly be caught off guard
as the sands shift below their feet. These workers are
in for a bit of a rude awakening – one that could have a
debilitating impact on their ability to adapt to change
and successfully upskill or reskill to meet new
organizational needs.
To mitigate this risk, which could hamper companies in
the near future, leadership must immediately cultivate
an organizational culture of learning by embedding the
importance of evolvability and continuous upskilling.
Managers should opt employees into training based on
critical skills gaps and anticipated functional needs. That
way, they can ensure their teams will have the durable
skills needed to succeed both individually and at a team
level to advance key business goals.
Figure 4
Have the skills required for you
to do your job successfully
changed in the past year?
I feel like I can succeed in my
job over the next year with
my current skill set.
4%
Disagree
Figure 2 Figure 3
41%
Yes
59%
No
96%
Agree
Junior Employees Junior Employees
Junior Employees
FOR BUSINESS | State of the Workforce Skills Gap 2024

7. 7
Companies need data
analysis and project
management skills most
Which technical/hard
skills do you need at your
company right now?
Which technical/hard
skills do you want to
learn or sharpen?
When leadership was asked about the top hard or
technical skills their companies needed most right now,
data analysis and project management rose to the top,
with AI/machine learning and software engineering
tied for third.
There’s significant overlap between the skills leaders
need most in their workforces and those that
employees are eager to learn. Project management,
data analysis, and AI/machine learning are top areas for
both groups.
These three core technical competencies are function-
agnostic and critical for work today. Companies have
been amassing an abundance of data across virtually
every function, yet most workers are unable to turn
that data into actionable business strategies. Similarly,
employees know that AI technology has the capacity
to bring efficiencies to critical processes, but most are
struggling when it comes to AI literacy. And project
management skills are a must to execute on initiatives
that leverage data insights and AI advancements to
drive innovation and develop competitive business
advantages.
Yet, most workers are operating with a lack of formalized
training in these three domains. Leaders may garner
immediate buy-in for company-wide training and
development programs (and expediently resolve
skills gaps) if they prioritize project management, data
analysis, and AI/machine learning in upskilling programs.
To drive participation at a faster rate, companies may
consider offering incentives or bonuses to employees
for pursuing development opportunities.
Interestingly, there is far greater demand for software
engineering skills from leadership than there is interest
from employees: only 16% of employees want to learn
software engineering, but leaders view it as a top priority.
The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that the global
shortage of software engineers may reach 85.2 million
by 2030. Now’s the time for organizations to capitalize
on the internal interest that does exist and deploy
software engineering reskilling programs, especially
considering the recruitment challenges in this field.
Talent development executives can take inspiration
from industry leaders like Amazon and Walmart, who
are simultaneously empowering frontline workers and
remedying skills gaps by offering all employees tailored
training programs for in-demand careers.
5%
40%
42%
33%
16%
20%
9%
20%
18%
17%
3%
Data analysis
Project management
AI/machine learning
Software engineering
Cybersecurity
UX/UI learning
Marketing
Writing
Graphic/motion design
None
44%
44%
36%
36%
31%
25%
22%
14%
10%
Figure 5
Leadership Junior Employees
FOR BUSINESS | State of the Workforce Skills Gap 2024

8. 8
A severe lack of critical business skills is preventing
growth at America’s largest companies. The majority of
leaders say that strategic/critical thinking is the top soft
skill needed in their workforce today, with the related
skill of problem-solving and decision-making coming
in second. Communication is also lacking: 46% of
leadership say this is a top three needed skill.
This decade, which started with a global pandemic that
upended virtually all aspects of our lives, has already
been a whirlwind for businesses across industries. We
quickly learned the importance of adaptability and
agility in our capacity to thrive—both in our personal
and professional lives. With the global business
environment in a state of flux for the foreseeable future,
companies that can strategically evolve will have an
edge. Leaders see this opportunity, and recognize that
critical thinking and problem-solving skills are essential
to operate with this mindset.
Most companies lack
strategic thinking skills
Junior-level employees also see opportunity to grow
in their critical business skills, but the development of
strategic thinking is a slightly lower priority for them
than skills needed for career growth. 44% of junior
employees say they are most interested in developing
leadership/management skills and 42% want to
improve their communication skills.
This is good news for employers: junior employees are
clearly interested in developing leadership capabilities
as they’re prioritizing the skills that are most closely
tied to making a visible organizational impact. Business
leaders should invest in high-potential employees
(HIPOs) to quickly capitalize on this enthusiasm.
Companies that meet the development priorities of
junior employees are likely to see positive impacts on
employee happiness, engagement, and retention—
which together have a disproportionate impact on
business performance.
What soft skills do you
need at your company
right now?
What soft skills do
you want to learn or
sharpen?
Strategic/critical
thinking
Problem-solving &
decision making
Communication
(oral/written)
Flexibility and
adaptability
Emotional intelligence/
interpersonal relationships
Leadership/management
Time management
Creativity
Effective remote/hybrid
collaboration
Cultural
competence/inclusion
Storytelling
14%
40% 57%
49%
46%
43%
40%
35%
31%
30%
21%
15%
37%
42%
25%
26%
44%
34%
26%
15%
10% 10%
Figure 6
Leadership Junior Employees
FOR BUSINESS | State of the Workforce Skills Gap 2024

9. 9
Nearly 40% of leaders
say workforce skills
gaps are getting worse
More than a third of leadership believe that skills
gaps are growing quickly: 38% say that the skills gap
at their company has gotten worse in the past year.
Another 17% say that progress on resolving workforce
deficiencies has been stagnant. Fewer than half of
leaders report a noticeable improvement. (Figure 7)
This survey also reveals that the vast majority of leaders
are aware of the impending obsolescence of most
technical skills. Fewer than a quarter of leadership (22%)
How has the skills gap at your company
changed in the past year?
17% It has stayed the same
38% It has gotten worse
44% It has improved
What’s the current shelf life of technical or
hard skills?
5%
<1 year
32% 1-2 years
42% 3-5 years
22% 5+ years
believe that hard skills have a shelf life longer than five
years; nearly 40% say the current shelf life of these
skills is under two years (Figure 8). This viewpoint is in
stark contrast to the level of employee self-confidence
surfaced in this report—while 78% of the leaders
surveyed say today’s hard skills will become obsolete
in under five years, only 21% of junior employees (Figure
4) are worried that skill depletion will impact their
employment in this same time frame.
Figure 7
Figure 8
Leadership
Leadership
FOR BUSINESS | State of the Workforce Skills Gap 2024

10. Core
Challenges
FOR BUSINESS | State of the Workforce Skills Gap 2024

11. 11
Skills gaps are
hampering the talent
pipeline, impacting
innovation, growth,
productivity and more
What are the biggest challenges your organization is facing
due to the skills gap?
53% High employee turnover
38% Increased recruitment costs
35% Limited innovation and growth
27% Decreased productivity/efficiency
24% Decreased revenue
21% Difficulty in keeping up with technological change
19% Reduced quality of products or services
16% Increases in accidents or errors
15% Difficulty in staying competitive in the global marketplace
12% Damage to company reputation
1% None of these
59% Difficulty in finding qualified employees
Figure 9
Leadership
FOR BUSINESS | State of the Workforce Skills Gap 2024

12. 12
With employee burnout at extremely concerning levels
and persistent recruitment and retention shortcomings,
companies must take action fast. A majority of leaders
appear to see that the solution lies within their
workforce. Over 63% of leaders say that upskilling is
the top priority for solving their company skills gap in
the next year and 43% plan to invest in reskilling to help
employees acquire a new set of skills to transition to
wholly new roles.
Of concern is that 58% of companies still plan to search
externally to fill vacant roles that are contributing to their
skills gap (Figure 11). Recruitment is more costly than
talent development in the long run, especially when
considering the opportunity cost of operating with open
roles – not to mention the contributions this positioning
has to fueling burnout amongst existing staff.
HR leaders (77 of whom were surveyed for this report)
seem to be most attuned to this reality. For this group,
recruitment is deprioritized. According to this survey,
upskilling (75%) and reskilling (62%) are the top two
tactics HR leaders want to employ in the next year to
address company skills gaps—hiring full-time talent
comes in third.
Organizations are facing significant workforce
challenges because of company-wide skills gaps.
Recruitment (59%) and retention (53%) are the top two
challenges organizations are facing due to a lack of
skills (Figure 9). The labor market is imbalanced—there
there have been more jobs than available workers for
over two years now. Companies are struggling to find
the talent they need to operate effectively.
This is having spillover effects onto existing workforces.
63% of junior level employees say they’ve experienced
job-related burnout in the past year, and 40% say this
burnout was severe (Figure 10). The global business
landscape is getting increasingly competitive, and as
companies are forced to operate with leaner teams,
the burden is clearly falling on remaining employees.
Recruitment challenges are undoubtedly exacerbating
this issue and are likely contributing to the increased
employee turnover organizational leaders are reporting.
The unsustainability of these trends cannot be
overstated. Already, over a third of leaders are reporting
limited innovation and growth as a result of existing
skills gaps and nearly a quarter say they’re seeing
decreased revenue and productivity. Additionally, one
in five companies are having difficulty keeping up with
technological change because of skills gaps. (Figure 9)
What are your company’s top priorities for addressing the
skills gap in the next year?
58%
Hiring new full-time talent
43%
23%
Using AI to solve skills gaps
23% Hiring contractors
21% Outsourcing/restructuring
3% None
63%
Helping employees build more skills
for their current job (upskilling)
Helping employees learn new skills to transition
to new roles (reskilling)
Figure 11
Have you experienced burnout related to your job in the
past year?
23% Yes, I’ve experienced severe burnout
40% Yes, I’ve experienced some burnout
36% No, I haven’t experienced severe burnout
Figure 10
Leadership
Junior Employees
FOR BUSINESS | State of the Workforce Skills Gap 2024

13. 13
cite a lack of support from leadership as an obstacle
(Figure 12). It’s evident that people operations
functions are under-resourced, undersupported, and
understaffed, which is undoubtedly undermining
existing efforts to solve organizational skills gaps.
Almost half of leaders say their company’s training and
development programs are only somewhat effective,
and one in ten say existing efforts are not effective at all
(Figure 13). To turn the tide, organizations must clearly
reassess their resource allocation to better support
L&D and strengthen the quality of their upskilling and
reskilling programs with the right partners.
Although a majority of leaders cite internal upskilling
as the top priority for resolving critical skills gaps, many
companies are not allocating adequate resources to
run effective programs. According to the leadership
surveyed here, lack of budget (44%) and lack of team
bandwidth to manage L&D programs (39%) are the
top barriers to solving workforce skills gaps (Figure 12).
According to HR leaders, high employee turnover is the
most pressing problem—cited by 44% as the top barrier.
In addition to a lack of budget and lack of talent
development capacity, nearly a third (29%) of leaders
Talent development
& HR resources are
strained
How effective are your company’s training and development
programs in solving the skills gap at your organization?
What barriers are preventing your company from
solving the skills gap in the workforce?
1% We don’t currently have any training and development programs
39% Lack of team bandwidth to manage L&D programs
44% Lack of budget
33% Inability to identify effective learning and development solutions
33% High employee turnover
29% Lack of support from leadership
26% Can’t reach consensus on most effective solutions
26% Lack of interest/participation by employees
24% Too many other priorities
9% Lack of ROI on previous L&D programs
3% None of these
48% Somewhat effective
10% Not at all effective
23% Effective
18% Very effective
Figure 12
Figure 13
Leadership
Leadership
FOR BUSINESS | State of the Workforce Skills Gap 2024

14. 14
Companies are prioritizing more junior staff when
it comes to upskilling, reskilling, and learning and
development. Just about half of leaders say they are
prioritizing entry-level employees (51%), independent
contributors (47%), and first-level managers (47%). There’s
an L&D cliff around middle management, with only
one-third of leaders (34%) saying their companies are
prioritizing training these employees—and prioritization
decreases rapidly in seniority from there (Figure 14).
The good news for companies putting junior
employees first is that this set of workers is eager to
learn. The vast majority of junior employees (77%) say
they want to learn new skills, a trend that’s even higher
among managers (82%) (Figure 15). But, these workers
are constrained: 30% say they don’t have adequate
time to dedicate to learning and one in five employees
say their employer doesn’t provide enough learning
resources (Figure 16).
Companies must capitalize on the high enthusiasm
for career development that’s prevalent among staff,
keeping in mind that time is the top barrier.
By championing a culture of learning, leadership
can make training and development a
company-wide priority.
When assessing upskilling and reskilling partners,
leaders should seek out those that forefront applied
learning and integrate on-the-job projects directly
into curricula. That way, employees are able to engrain
newly acquired skills by immediately applying what
they’re learning to a real business challenge, driving
organizational impact. It’s a win-win for both workers
and companies. Employees successfully upskill
while furthering a key organizational goal, generating
momentum for both their careers and the business.
Almost 1 in 3
employees don’t have
time for development
Which employees is your company prioritizing when it comes to
upskilling, reskilling, or learning and development programs?
51% Early career/entry level staff
47% First-level managers
34% Middle managers
22% Executive or senior leaders
15% C-suite
4% We don’t have any L&D or training programs
Figure 14
47%
Intermediate or experienced
independent contributors
Leadership
FOR BUSINESS | State of the Workforce Skills Gap 2024

15. 15
What are the key barriers preventing you from learning
the skills you need?
30% I don’t have time to dedicate to learning
20% My employer doesn’t provide enough learning resources
14% My employer doesn’t provide any learning resources
13% My employer’s learning offerings aren’t relevant to me
12% My employer’s learning offerings aren’t effective
11% It’s hard to stay motivated and stick with a learning program
8% My employer’s learning offerings are boring
2% I don’t think I’m smart enough to learn
Figure 16
Would you like to learn new skills for your current role
or to advance your career?
3%
No, I need new
skills but I’m not
interested in
learning
Figure 15
77%
Yes
20%
No, I have
all the skills
I need
Junior Employees Junior Employees
FOR BUSINESS | State of the Workforce Skills Gap 2024

16. How AI is
Reshaping
Work
FOR BUSINESS | State of the Workforce Skills Gap 2024

17. 17
Businesses on the whole are faltering when it comes
to keeping pace with advancements in technology.
After the public release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in late
2022, we witnessed businesses scrambling to react to
the widespread use of generative AI. Most still lack a
playbook on the role artificial intelligence plays in day-
to-day operations.
Many companies are missing clarity of direction when
it comes to AI, and workers are falling behind. This
survey revealed that AI/machine learning is the #3 in-
demand hard skill according to leaders, with more than
a third (36%) saying their companies need AI expertise
(Figure 5). Yet, almost 80% of junior employees say
they’re unable to keep up with the rate of technological
change (Figure 17).
2023 marked an inflection point in AI as people started
experimenting with this widely available tech in their
jobs. As we become more adept at integrating machine
assistance into all aspects of our lives, workers are
bound to start uncovering job-related use cases.
Organizations must take the lead in equipping their
workers with the tools and training they need to fully
leverage emerging technologies the moment they
enter the market. This will not only boost worker
productivity, but also safeguard data security and
ethical codes as employees engage with AI.
Employees are
struggling to keep
up with the pace of
technological change
Technology such as AI is progressing at a rate that
is difficult to keep up with.
Figure 17
21%
Disagree
79%
Agree
Junior Employees
FOR BUSINESS | State of the Workforce Skills Gap 2024

18. 18
Even though they’re struggling to keep up, many junior
employees view AI favorably. 40% believe AI will help
them do their jobs faster and better and more than
28% foresee needing to learn how to use AI for their
jobs in the coming years (Figure 18). This sentiment is
even stronger among managers. More than half of
managers (51%) believe that AI will provide a boost to
their efficiency and 41% foresee having to learn how to
use AI for their day-to-day work. Surprisingly, nearly one
in three junior employees don’t anticipate any impact
from AI in the next three years.
There is already some expectation brewing that AI will
replace workers. Among junior employees, one in five
say they foresee AI taking over either their colleagues’
jobs or their own within the next three years (Figure
18). These predictions are not baseless. This survey
revealed that leaders are actively thinking about
ways to leverage AI to resolve workforce deficiencies.
Nearly a quarter of the leaders surveyed (23%) say their
companies are planning to use AI to solve skills gaps in
the next year (Figure 11).
AI is more than a hot topic. It’s a bastion of immense
potential to fuel productivity and agility. Companies
must approach AI adoption in the workplace with
urgency and transparency. Employees are already
predicting that the technology will bring significant
changes to the way they work. Organizations must
communicate their approach to this developing tech
and provide upskilling opportunities to all employees to
ensure company-wide AI literacy. Leaders should also
identify roles they anticipate will be wholly replaced
by AI and provide strategic reskilling opportunities to
those employees to avoid fall-off and leverage existing
strengths in human capital.
Sentiment towards
AI is mixed
How will AI affect you and other workers at your
company in the next 3 years?
31%
AI won’t affect me or other workers at
my company in the next 3 years
14%
I won’t need to learn certain technical skills (like coding or
writing) because I’ll be able to ask AI to do it for me
6%
I won’t need to learn certain soft skills (like critical thinking, time
management, or creativity) because I’ll be able to ask AI to do it for me
6%
I won’t need to train my coworkers because AI will train
them for me
11% AI will take over my teammates’ jobs and replace them
9% AI will take over my job and replace me
28% I will need to learn how to use AI for my job
40% AI will help me do my job faster and better
Figure 18
Junior Employees
FOR BUSINESS | State of the Workforce Skills Gap 2024

19. 19
Bridging the
skills gap in
This report paints a clear picture: companies are
struggling with severe skills gaps that are hindering
performance, fueling burnout, and stifling innovation.
With the rapid pace of technological advancement
projected to accelerate, the likelihood of existing skills
gaps widening and posing a true existential threat to
organizations is great.
Taking action to combat this disturbing trend is
paramount. Yet, too few companies are prioritizing
workforce transformation. This report reveals that
nearly half of large companies are underfunding talent
development and that the L&D programs that do exist
are not very effective. Time is running out to change
course. Organizations must immediately foster a strong
culture of learning, making continuous upskilling a
company-wide priority—not just an HR department
function.
As the future of work evolves, so will the technical
skill sets required to succeed. But what these hard
skills will be is hard to predict and, more importantly,
they’re fleeting, with a shelf life that’s dwindling as
technology progresses. On the other hand, cognitive
skills like strategic thinking, decision making, and
communication are enduring and critical to success
in business. Companies should certainly equip
workers with necessary technical skills—perhaps by
reskilling employees whose roles are most at risk for
obsoletion—but should consider prioritizing a focus on
durable business skills so that their workforce is ready
to tackle any future challenge head-on.
With the labor market loosening and recruitment a
persistent, costly challenge, the companies that will
thrive in the next five years are those that invest now
in transformative upskilling and reskilling programs to
bridge critical skills gaps while increasing employee
engagement and retention.2024
FOR BUSINESS | State of the Workforce Skills Gap 2024

20. 20
Springboard for Business is a workforce
transformation company that grows
businesses by empowering leaders and
their teams with the critical thinking,
data, and technology skills central
to the future of work. Companies
like Amazon, Walmart, HP, and Visa
have partnered with Springboard
for Business to upskill and reskill
employees around the world. Through
human-led instruction, one-on-one
expert mentorship, and company-
specific projects, Springboard for
Business delivers personalized, online
training programs that drive immediate
financial outcomes.
Since Springboard was founded in
2013, more than 40,000 professionals
across 100+ countries have advanced
their careers—and increased their
earnings by over $1 billion—through its
comprehensive learning programs in AI,
data, design, software engineering, and
cybersecurity. Springboard is based in
San Francisco and has been named to
the Inc. Power Partners, Inc. 5000, and
GSV EdTech 150 lists.
Learn more
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