Focussing on skills gaps

Organisations are investing more than ever in talent development, yet many are not seeing the results they expect. Why? Skills blind spots - hidden gaps in workforce capabilities – are acting as silent barriers, slowing down progress and holding businesses back.

 

Research from Skillsoft’s 2025 Global Skills Intelligence Survey revealed that only 10% of HR and learning and development (L&D) professionals are fully confident their teams have the skills needed to meet business goals over the next 12 to 24 months. This lack of confidence stems not from insufficient effort or resources, but from a lack of visibility into existing skills and gaps.

 

For years, skills gaps were seen as background noise – a HR issue to be managed but not a priority. Today, they’re a strategic concern, directly impacting business growth. In fact, 28% of HR and L&D professionals say that these gaps are restricting their ability to pursue new markets and opportunities. The most critical gaps are in leadership, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and core technical skills, precisely the areas needed to drive innovation and growth in an AI-driven business environment.

 

When organisations can’t identify or measure these gaps, they risk stalled projects, missed opportunities and wasted investment. To move forward, leaders must treat skills as a strategic asset, integrating them into every aspect of workforce planning and decision-making.

 

 

Disconnected development undermines growth

Identifying tangible skills gaps is a challenge for most organizations, and even when organisations can recognise skills gaps, closing them effectively remains a challenge. While 85% of organisations have development systems in place, many struggle to both measure and achieve meaningful impact. The challenge isn’t a lack of effort or investment, but rather that these initiatives are often fragmented and disconnected from business strategy. Without a measurable unified approach, learning initiatives become generic and fail to address the specific needs of teams or the pace of business change.

 

This fragmentation means even well-intentioned training programmes rarely deliver measurable outcomes. Employees may complete courses, but if the learning isn’t relevant or aligned to real business challenges, it is often not retained, and the return on investment is limited. Instead of building a future-ready workforce, organisations are left with a patchwork of skills that don’t translate into true capability.

 

Breaking this cycle requires shifting from isolated training initiatives to a holistic, data-driven skills intelligence strategy. This empowers organisations to embed learning into business planning, making development efforts more purposeful, targeted and aligned with both individual growth and organisational goals.

 

Unlike static assessments, skills intelligence evolves alongside the workforce. Its strengths lie in generating actionable insights that connect employee capabilities to business outcomes. By continuously tracking how skills develop and identifying emerging strengths, organisations can build agile teams that are ready to meet today’s demands and adapt to future challenges.

 

 

Why visibility is key to progress

The missing link in many talent strategies is visibility. Organisations need to connect learning, skills, performance and rewards to gain a clear, real-time picture of their workforce capability and its ability to deliver the business strategy. Yet, many still lack visibility into the skills their workforce possesses, as well as its connection to overall business performance.

 

For instance, 91% of HR professionals believe employees overstate their skill proficiency, particularly in leadership, AI, and technical domains. Despite this concern, only 18% of organisations regularly measure skills throughout the talent development journey. Without accurate data, skills evaluation becomes subjective, leaders rely on assumptions, approving projects without the right talent, which leads to delays, wasted budgets and misaligned strategies.

 

You can’t close gaps you can’t see. That’s why leaders need to dynamically, assess, track and align workforce skills. When implemented effectively, organisations can have full visibility into workforce capabilities, giving leaders the ability to make informed decisions about hiring, development and deployment. This turns workforce planning into a competitive advantage, helping organisations respond faster to market changes, innovate more effectively and become stronger.

 

 

AI as a catalyst for smarter talent development

s organisations seek greater visibility and alignment, AI is emerging as a key enabler. No longer theoretical, AI is now actively augmenting human capabilities, streamlining tasks, accelerating decision-making and driving operational efficiency. The rise of the digital team member through agentic AI, which can learn, reason and independently complete tasks, adds a new dimension to talent development. 

 

Take skills gap analysis, for example. Once a slow, time-consuming process, it can now be automated by AI, which gathers data and delivers actionable insights. AI can also personalise learning journeys, recommend targeted development opportunities and provide real-time feedback to both employees and leaders.

 

However, adoption isn’t without its challenges. In fact, 41% of respondents cite resistance to change as the biggest barrier to AI integration. This underscores the need for employees to understand how to use these tools effectively, recognise their limitations and integrate them seamlessly into daily workflows. Upskilling in AI literacy has become a core pillar of workforce strategy, ensuring teams are equipped to use the technology to its full potential.

 

 

A wake-up call for leaders

The future belongs to organisations that treat skills as a strategic imperative. By embedding skills intelligence into workforce strategy and embracing AI as a catalyst, leaders can unlock the full potential of their people, build resilience and drive innovation and business results. With the right tools, data and mindset, businesses can create a workforce that is not only prepared for change but equipped to lead it. 

 

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Ciara Harrington is Chief People Officer at Skillsoft

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com and RapidEye