European companies are suffering from digital talent deficits, but half won't invest in training

According to a recent study by the corporate learning expert Skillsoft, organizations across Europe face the great challenge of equipping their employees with the necessary know-how for this change in view of the digital transformation. 

The Skillsoft study carried out in Great Britain, France and Germany showed that retraining and training and further education (L&D) represent the greatest problem for those responsible for employee development due to the changing and increasingly digital working environments.

With an average of 42%, the lack of know-how for new requirements in the course of digitization was cited as the number one challenge by participants from all countries. On average, only 22% of all respondents stated that their organizations were sufficiently prepared to provide the new qualifications required for digital transformation, and about 20% of German study participants agreed. In Great Britain, however, respondents rated the level of preparations significantly worse: only 14% of the organizations stated that they had fully trained employees with the relevant skills. In contrast, 33% of organizations in France saw themselves as fully prepared.

Despite the clear vote of all respondents that the organizations have not adequately prepared their employees for digital transformation, only about half of the companies in each country increased their investments in qualification measures in order to keep pace with digital development (Germany 56%, UK 56%, France 54%).

"It is becoming clear that digital transformation in all three countries is putting those responsible for further training and employee development, as well as their planning, implementation and financing, to a hard test. Even if around half of the companies surveyed are planning targeted investments, the challenge is Keeping up with the changes due to digitalization is huge," explains Steve Wainwright, Managing Director EMEA at Skillsoft. "It is therefore crucial that companies make use of the technical options available today to implement successful L&D strategies. Only in this way can they use digitalization to offer their employees the best development opportunities, improve their learning behavior and to expand their skills."

Further information on corporate learning offers in relation to digital transformation and technical qualifications can also be found in the white paper “Are Your Employees Digital Ready?”.