Skill gaps are hindering organizations from achieving strategic objectives, due to fragmented and unmeasured approaches.

That’s according to the 2025 Global Skills Intelligence Survey from Skillsoft, which canvassed 1,000 HR and L&D professionals across the US, UK, Germany, and Australia.

The survey found that just 10% of those surveyed said they are fully confident in the skills available in their workforce to meet the needs of the business over the next 12-24 months.

Furthermore, critical business functions including leadership, AI, and technology were identified as the most significant skill shortages.

With HR leaders placing significant prominence on AI as a foundation of the future of work, this gap will be of real concern, while workers are also hitting ceilings on their use of AI without proper training.

Skillsoft found that nearly one third (28%) of HR and L&D professionals believe that skills are the key factor that could make or break their organization’s growth, limiting opportunities to expand into new markets.

Speaking exclusively with UNLEASH, Ciara Harrington, Chief People Officer at Skillsoft, says the survey findings reiterate “how unprepared the majority of organizations are” to contend with a rapidly evolving workforce and changing economy, with “significant skills gaps in areas essential for business growth.”

“For a long time, skills gaps felt like background noise that was ever-present in organizations, but now they are front and center, directly impacting whether or not businesses can hit their goals,” Harrington explains.

She adds that these skills barriers persist not due to a lack of investment in development, but because efforts are “often misaligned”.

Skills are the currency of performance

Skillsoft’s research shows that while skills development plans are in place at 85% of organizations, just 20% of respondents believe they are aligned with strategic objectives and only 6% rate these programs as ‘outstanding’.

Common pain points highlighted by respondents included fragmented solutions that are overly manual and lacking customization.

Meanwhile, the most common barriers to talent development program success were found to be employee engagement (42%) and a lack of time for training (41%).

“The findings confirm that skills, not roles, are now the currency of performance,” Harrington comments.

“And in this new economy of human-AI collaboration, visibility into workforce capability is no longer optional. It’s foundational.”

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