Despite reports of a tech skills gap, a majority of workers remain optimistic about their own skillset, according to a new Udemy report.
In the US, 79% of more than 1,000 full-time workers surveyed said they believe there is a skills shortage, supporting past research of a skills gap, especially in tech fields. However, only 35% of workers said they feel personally affected by it, the report said. Breaking that down, men are more likely to feel impacted by the shortage than women, 42% to 28%, the report found. Millennials felt more likely to be impacted than other generations by about the same margins.
Around 40% of US workers said needing to change their skill sets would have the biggest impact on their job in the next five years, according to the report. The majority—80%—said they think the workforce can be re-trained to meet the changing demands of all industries as technology becomes more prevalent.
But who is going to pay for additional training to help employees adapt their skill sets? About one-third of respondents said there should be a tax benefit for learning, followed by 27% who said it should be funded by the government.
“In such an uncertain environment, it’s not surprising that workers are confused about how to plan their careers, but we’re encouraged to see how many of our survey respondents are learning online on their own and are hungry for more and better training from their employers,” said Udemy CEO Kevin Johnson in the press release.
The report also looked at five top global markets: Brazil, France, Germany, Mexico, and Spain. While acknowledgment of the skills gap was common across all nations, workers in Spain, Mexico, and Brazil were more likely to feel impacted by the skills gap. Meanwhile, French workers were the most confident in their skills.
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