A fifth of managers miss training, the study shows

With this week’s Budget pushing the cost of employment out of reach for some employers, upskilling has never been more important as a tool to keep productivity and talent flowing, avoiding the need to increase headcount.

A recent YouGov survey commissioned for Mind Tools’ Building better managers report, revealed a stagnation of managerial skills, with a fifth saying they do not expect to learn new things regularly.

Upskilling is one of those terms that can mean anything from using teams for the first time to learning how to become perfect when giving a presentation. The staircase is long and wide. However, a study by McKinsey & Company showed that effective reskilling tends to increase productivity by 6 to 12 percent.

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The Mind Tools report also revealed that around 30.5 million UK workers – equivalent to 94% of the current workforce – do not have all the skills they will need in 2030 to perform well in their jobs work. Of these workers, 25.5 million would benefit from upskilling and another five million require retraining.

The report continues that in only about a quarter of cases where retraining is required, employers would not benefit from retraining their workers.

When considering why employers don’t supercharge their learning and development efforts, many believe they simply don’t have the time to spend on upskilling. This is further exasperated by managers who receive no support from their organization or managers who are directed to develop the skills they need.

Half of the managers (50 percent) surveyed said they did not receive support from their organizations when they first stepped into their roles. This means that for many managers, the first days of a new job are both daunting and a problem of making the right decisions.

Shabnam Shahani, CEO at Mind Tools, said: “These findings highlight the critical gap in leadership development, especially as organizations increasingly rely on managers to drive performance and retention. Organizations risk losing talent and productivity without a clear focus on management development. Our findings illustrate the pressing need for managers to have both the time and resources to develop their skills effectively.”

When asked about other barriers to their professional development, 13% of managers said they don’t know what skills they need to be more effective. The problem is exacerbated by a lack of the right tools and resources, with 13% of managers saying the learning content they have access to is not relevant, while 12% can’t even find the resources they need to learn.

Shahani added: “Our report highlights a key irony in modern leadership: while managers are expected to support learning within their teams, they often lack the necessary support from their own leaders.” She continued: “They often know they need to improve, but many don’t know where to start.”

Artificial intelligence is an immediate threat to many jobs that cannot be ignored and has an impact on the need for employees to learn both relevant digital skills and upskilling skills to cope with a world where jobs can change , some aspects being replaced by technology. The McKinsey & Co report states that without concerted action, two-thirds of the UK workforce could lack basic digital skills by 2030, while over ten million people could end up unskilled in leadership, communication and decision making.