Employers reveal top skills required for 2021

As the New Year gets underway, there is a renewed focus on skills and development within the world of work. However, according to new research from recruiting experts, Hays, the skills which organisations are most in need of and those which employees want to develop are different.

As the New Year gets underway, there is a renewed focus on skills and development within the world of work. However, according to new research from recruiting experts, Hays, the skills which organisations are most in need of and those which employees want to develop are different.

The research surveyed 23,000 respondents and uncovered the skills which organisations are most in need of over the next 12 months. These are:

  • Communication and interpersonal skills (needed by 55%)
  • Ability to adopt change (53%)
  • Problem-solving (45%)
  • Flexibility and adaptability (43%)
  • People management skills (41%)

Despite these skills being most in demand by employers, they differ considerably to the skills which employees want to develop in order to progress their career. These are:

  • People management skills (37%)
  • Communication and interpersonal skills (29%)
  • Critical thinking (29%)
  • Negotiation (27%)
  • Judgement and decision-making skills (26%)

Only communication and interpersonal skills make it into both lists, highlighting that there is a clear mismatch between the skills organisations are in need of and those employees want to develop.

Employers press ahead with upskilling plans
Despite this mismatch, employers remain focused on upskilling in the year ahead. Over two thirds (69%) say they plan to help employees upskill in their current profession, and over a third (37%) say they plan to support employees to undertake academic qualifications in their current profession.

Less than one in five (16%) say they don’t plan to support the upskilling of their staff in the next year.

Encouragingly, nearly all (97%) employees believe that they have the skills needed to fulfil their current role. Of those who don’t however, the reason most gave was that they are unable to undertake training or personal development due to the impact on their time and workload.

Simon Winfield, Managing Director of Hays UK & Ireland, comments: “Professional development is a high priority for employees, particularly as we enter the New Year. No longer is it something that’s merely nice to have – employees want it to be a core part of their career and expect their employer to support this. We have observed an increase in candidates who enquire about this when exploring new job opportunities.

For professionals looking for a new role in the New Year, it’s wise to stay ahead of what skills employers are looking for and what skills will help you to get your next job. Consider how you can articulate these in both the application and interview process.

For employers, make sure you offer a wide range of training opportunities, which enable staff to develop different skillsets. Having diverse strengths among your workforce will ultimately benefit your organisation and aid employee attraction and retention.”

    Read more

    Latest News

    Read More

    The value of human support in an AI world

    15 October 2024

    Newsletter

    Receive the latest HR news and strategic content

    Please note, as per the GDPR Legislation, we need to ensure you are ‘Opted In’ to receive updates from ‘theHRDIRECTOR’. We will NEVER sell, rent, share or give away your data to third parties. We only use it to send information about our products and updates within the HR space To see our Privacy Policy – click here

    Latest HR Jobs

    University of LeicesterSalary: £58,596 to £65,814 per annum, pro- rata if part-time

    Christ the Redeemer CollegeSalary: £24,000 to £26,000 per annum/Pro rata

    Document all end of months reports for all three London Properties. Do periodic job evaluations with all HR team members and Management members. Develop Management

    The Clark-Ito Group, Inc., Global Executive Recruitment , has been retained by our premier client to fill a critical human resources role located in northeastern

    Read the latest digital issue of theHRDIRECTOR for FREE

    Read the latest digital issue of theHRDIRECTOR for FREE