Leading online training provider company, Simplilearn has revealed findings of the 2022 State of Upskilling Midyear Learner survey. According to the survey findings:
- Around 69% of employees plan to spend more time upskilling.
- 72% are looking to change employers or pivot to a new career altogether.
- While there is some uncertainty about continued economic recovery and the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, CXOs, and VPs/Department Heads are most optimistic about recovery from the pandemic. People in large companies (5,000 to 9,999 employees) are optimistic about the pandemic ending but somewhat less certain about economic recovery.
Other findings
- Scarcity of critical skills observed as the biggest challenge: While 37% of respondents cited lacking skill certifications or new skills their jobs required as an obstacle to career growth, 18% cited a lack of soft skills like verbal and written communication, supervisory skills, and presentation.
- Data Science and Project Management were the top skills chosen by learners for upskilling: 28% of the respondents who were planning to do better in their current roles and 30% of those who were looking to pivot to a new career showed interest in skills such as Data Science, Digital Marketing, and Project Management.
- Both large and small enterprises emphasize continued learning: 75% of employees in very small firms (fewer than 50 employees).
- 73% of people in very large firms (over 10,000 employees) said they were planning to spend more time learning in the coming year.
One inference from these findings is that small firms’ employees need to keep their skills updated with emerging technologies and want a well-rounded skill set. Another insight is that large enterprises value continuous learning and encourage their employees to refresh their skills.
- 77% CXOs said that they are planning to spend more time learning this year. The top and bottom organizations are most interested in learning and upskilling.
- 77% of CXOs said they plan to spend more time learning in the coming year (compared to 69% of all respondents).
- 72% of individual contributors said they plan to spend more time learning in the coming year.
According to the official statement, the report highlights employee trends regarding career development through the past 12 months and expectations for the coming year.
Will Wei Lin, Chief Marketing Officer, Simplilearn, said, “The pandemic has impacted professionals irrespective of gender or age.”
“This has also been a challenging time for many in terms of career growth. However, it is promising to see the optimism in terms of post-pandemic development, and it is no doubt that the importance of continued learning has come through during this time 2022 has been a year of transition”, Will Wei Lin said.
“Digital transformation has come a long way from the onset of the pandemic in 2020. Enterprises today completely understand the need to have a digitally-skilled workforce,” Will Wei Lin added.
The survey was conducted to understand the following perspectives:
- Career trajectories of professionals in the past year – obstacles faced.
- What they did differently to improve their careers?
- The impact of these actions, and insight on new skills they have learned or plan to learn.
The statement added that the survey obtained responses from 750 learners and identified that 64% expect economic growth to continue and the pandemic to fade away.
