I’m OK; He’s the Incompetent One

A new survey finds that a majority of American workers believe that a skills gap” exists. However, most do not think that they are part of the problem.

Online learning specialist Udemy’s Skills Gap Index survey found that 95% of workers consider themselves to be either qualified or overqualified for the jobs they have. In other words, they don’t believe there is any gap between the skills they have and the ones their employers’ need.

Many bosses would beg to differ: Udemy cites a recent Manpower Group survey showing that 40% of U.S. employers report difficulty in filling vacant positions with qualified employees.

A similar study found that companies are more likely to hire from the outside – or even rely on temporary workers – rather than promote from within their own companies. The #1 reason cited is the “skills gap.”

While the overwhelming majority of workers feel they are personally qualified, a majority of them believe that there is a skills gap. In fact, 68% of men and 55% of women surveyed by Udemy believe in this skills gap.

Millennials (53%) are more likely than baby boomer (43%) to feel qualified to meet current and future workplace requirements. That may be justified, since millennials grew up with computers, while many boomers did not. Still, it’s strange that only a small majority of younger adult workers feel qualified.

Recent studies show that companies are not doing enough to train the workers they have, and are then looking outside their companies for the skilled workers they need. But if every company is behaving this way, it stands to reason that the number of skilled workers would be insufficient to meet demand.

This latest survey provides yet more evidence that companies need to invest more in training their employees. Otherwise, the skills gap will just grow wider.