[Cegos Survey] Transformations, skills and learning: issues and responses at global level

27/10/2021

The Cegos Group releases the results of its annual international survey "Transformation, skills and learning".In July, the 2021 survey polled 2,643 employees and 365 HR Directors/Managers or Training Directors/Managers (HRDs), all working in private- and public-sector organisations employing fifty employees or more, in six countries in Europe (France, Germany, Italy, Spain), Asia (Singapore) and South America (Brazil).The Barometer focus on 3 main issues:- Impacts of the Covid-19 crisis on learning,- The major challenges of business transformation and their impacts on skills- How to develop skills, today and tomorrow._______________________________Here are the key points of the survey:DESPITE THE HEALTH CRISIS, ORGANISATIONS HAVE CONTINUED THEIR TRAINING EFFORTS-93% of HRDs say they have significantly adapted their training offer since March 2020.-52% of employees took the initiative for the training they received (compared to 48% for whom the training was imposed).-50% of HRDs have implemented online remote learning and 48% have implemented blended learning.STRATEGIC WORKFORCE PLANNING AT THE HEART OF HR CHALLENGES TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF SKILLS OBSOLESCENCE-According to the HRDs polled, the skills used in 45% of the jobs in their organisation could become obsolete in the next three years.-45% report increasing difficulty in matching their organisation's skills needs with their training offer.-72% of HRDs consider that proficiency in basic skills a major HR objective.-Digital communication, remote collaboration and agility/adaptation are the top three skills that HRDs believe employees should be proficient in. CLEAR-SIGHTED AND PRAGMATIC IN THE FACE OF ONGOING TRANSFORMATIONS, EMPLOYEES WANT TO TRAIN-64% of employees and 45% of HRDs consider that skills development is a shared responsibility between the company and employees.-76% of employees say they would willingly attend a course in their own time.-For employees as well as HRDs alike, the three main drivers for learner engagement are rooting the training in a real work situation, facilitating access to the training content, and providing access to educational resources at any time on a multi-device basis. Benoit Felix, CEO of the Cegos Group, comments on this 2021 International Barometer Survey:"As an international leader in Learning & Development, we have been able to observe, for the past 18 months, in all the countries where we operate, the same urgency to respond to the challenge of skills in order to face the transformations of the employment and labour market. This desire is shared by companies and employees alike.Like any major crisis, the pandemic also holds its share of opportunities: it has enabled organisations to develop their offerings, to accelerate the digitalisation of their solutions and to roll out new formats on a large scale that are rapidly adopted by learners. Companies have not abandoned their training efforts, quite the contrary. And the employees showed a real desire to learn. Skills development is a strategic lever, as the crisis has shown, and there is no longer any doubt about it!All the stakeholders (employees, companies, public authorities, training organisations, etc.) are aware of the risk of skills becoming obsolete, which means that we need to think about and deploy very quickly upskilling and reskilling programmes that are increasingly detailed, individualised and effective."Discover the complete results.Have a look at our publications.