A new survey shows that many European IT professionals are concerned that a lack of training will prevent them from adapting to the demands of digital transformation. The research from Skillsoft, an education company, also suggests there is a startling disconnect between employers and employees when it comes to prioritising development and empowering workforces.

Skillsoft conducted an extensive survey on training and development at last month’s Digital Transformation Expo Europe event. Respondents hailed from sectors such as DevOps, AI, cyber & data security, infrastructure, and cloud. A high number of these IT professionals noted their concern with a lack of training and development on the part of their employers. Here are some of the key insights.

Lack of training: IT professionals want more support

IT professionals said they need support around skills development and do not believe enough is being done by employers. 89% of respondents said their organisation could do more to help them upskill, while 59% expressed concern that a lack of training will prevent them from remaining employable in the future.

A recent report from LinkedIn stated that 94% of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in development and this seems to be especially important for IT workers.
In terms of the current impact, 85% stated that their role has already been impacted by digital transformation and 79% would have liked more learning and development opportunities in the last 18 months to ensure they were appropriately skilled for their role.

Organisations neglect re-skilling

Despite the survey showing that an overwhelming 84% of respondents would prefer to learn skills with an existing employer rather than seeking a job elsewhere, just 30 % felt there was enough support to prepare them for a digitally transformed role. In fact, 59% of those surveyed believed that their organisation would prefer to hire new people than upskill current employees.

This may also have a noticeable effect on efforts to attract new staff, with a report from Gallup showing that 87% of millennials prioritise professional or career growth and development opportunities when looking for a job, while 69% of non-millennials said the same. 

Low level of viable programmes

Even though job roles are evolving fast, survey respondents commented that few organisations had dedicated programmes in place for workers to develop. According to the Skillsoft survey, just 17% of organisations have an effective programme in place for re-skilling employees, while 57% have a programme that could be improved, and 10% have nothing in place. Just 15% of organisations have successfully implemented new technologies to help with training.

Soft skills are a priority for people recruiting tech professionals

It looks like developing skills will be a top priority for IT workers in 2020, but it's important to hone your soft skills alongside technical skills. Find out which complementary skills will help technology workers in 2020.

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