Udemy, the largest global marketplace for learning and teaching online, today (September 23, 2020) released the “2019/2020 Global Skills Gap Report”, a special data survey report that provides a comprehensive look at the divide between job-seekers’ skills and the qualifications demanded by employers.
This is the fourth consecutive year that the report has been released by Udemy and this is the first time that India has been included in the report.
The Udemy report analyses insights from employees in India, Brazil, France, Mexico, and Spain and tracks their sentiment towards the skills gap in their respective countries. Key findings pertaining to India include:
- 92% of full-time employees in India agree that there is a skills gap in the country and 76% of them feel personally affected by it.
- Two-thirds also responded that all four skill types are equally valued by their employers: Technical and Digital skills (68%), Leadership and Management skills (66%), Productivity skills (66%), and Soft skills (63%).
- Indian employees learn mostly through online courses (44%) and corporate professional development (34%). The majority of Indian employees (97%) are excited about learning new skills and transitioning to a new job one day.
- 82% agree that college education has not equipped them with the skills they need to succeed in today’s job market; 84% say that skills are changing so rapidly that their current knowledge is becoming obsolete.
- The majority (92%) also say that there is so much competition in the job market that they need to be constantly upskilling.
- 82% agree that automation and artificial intelligence (AI) are taking away job roles and they need to reskill to stay relevant.
- 76% think that AI/automation will be able to do their work within the next five years.
- 91% have had to learn new skills to do their job effectively.
- 86% confirm that their employer provides professional development while 61% say they would leave their current job if that was not the case.
- The overwhelming majority (94%) also say it is important for their employer to encourage and support a “constant learning/training culture” in the organization.
- About half (55%) confess they have been dishonest in order to get a job or a promotion
To view or download the full report, please visit research.udemy.com
Commenting on the report, Irwin Anand, MD, Udemy India, said,
“There is an underlying current of anxiety, with as many as three-quarters of workers in India responding that they feel personally affected by the skills gap. As the COVID pandemic further exacerbates employee anxiety, business models, and jobs, we have seen many turn to skills training platforms like Udemy to help them become more competitive. The Udemy Skills Gap Report not only shows that Indian employees understand the importance of professional development, but they also feel responsible for it and expect their employers to support them on their upskilling journey. In a post-pandemic world, we expect to see this trend accelerate even further — success in today’s rapidly changing world requires new skills and a focus on continuous learning.”
With a mission to improve lives through learning, Udemy is the world’s largest online learning destination that helps students, businesses, and governments gain the skills they need to compete in today’s economy. More than 35 million students are mastering new skills from 57,000 expert instructors teaching over 130,000 online courses in topics from programming and data science to leadership and team building. For companies, Udemy for Business offers an employee training and development platform with subscription access to 7,000+ courses, learning analytics, as well as the ability to host and distribute their own content. Udemy for Government is designed to upskill workers and prepare them for the jobs of tomorrow. Eighty percent of Fortune 100 companies trust Udemy for employee upskilling.
Udemy is privately held and headquartered in San Francisco with offices in Denver, Brazil, India, Ireland, and Turkey. Its investors include Insight Partners, Prosus (Naspers Ventures), Norwest Venture Partners, Stripes Group, and Benesse Holdings.
