Pluralsight’s 2023 State of Upskilling Report has found that despite economic uncertainty, 72% of tech leaders plan to increase investment in tech skills development. The report also reveals a decrease in tech skills confidence across respondents. The top three skills technologists and technology managers are prioritizing to drive business value are cybersecurity, data science, and cloud. However, the report found that many technologists lack confidence in these areas. Lack of time and budget remain the biggest barriers to upskilling. With 85% of organizations engaged in, or planning to begin, a digital transformation project in 2023, guided learning can help technologists gain skills and achieve business objectives. Pluralsight is the leading technology workforce development company, providing expert-authored courses on today’s most important technologies, including cloud, artificial intelligence and machine learning, data science, and security, among others.
Pluralsight’s 2023 State of Upskilling Report has revealed that 72% of tech leaders plan to increase investment in tech skills development, despite the current economic uncertainty. Pluralsight, the technology workforce development company, conducted the survey among over 1,200 tech learners and leaders in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and India, to gather information on the latest trends and attitudes around tech skills development.
The report found that, while 65% of tech team leaders have been asked to reduce costs, 72% still plan to increase their investment in tech skills development in 2023. Additionally, 97% of learning and development and HR directors have prioritized internal talent over hiring for open positions, as upskilling existing talent is more cost-effective than hiring new employees.
Gary Eimerman, Chief Product Officer at Pluralsight, emphasized the importance of maximizing employee potential and optimizing learning investments to drive business ROI, stating that “an emphasis on continuous upskilling will help sharpen their competitive edge”.
The report also highlighted the impact of economic uncertainty on the tech industry, with 65% of tech executives being asked to look for cost efficiencies. This has resulted in 67% of tech managers reporting that their teams have taken on more responsibility, while nearly half (47%) of technologists agree they have had to perform additional responsibilities outside of their primary job function.
Investing in tech skills development can equip overwhelmed employees with the necessary tools to conquer new and unfamiliar responsibilities, with more than half (52%) of technologists stating that it’s important to learn new tech skills during economic turbulence. As day-to-day responsibilities evolve and expand in response to layoffs, upskilling becomes a critical aspect of both individual and organizational success.
Overall, the report indicates that investing in tech skills development is crucial for businesses to stay competitive and succeed, even during challenging economic times.
According to Pluralsight’s 2023 State of Upskilling Report, there is a decrease in tech skills confidence among respondents. The majority of technologists are not confident in their skills across major tech skill areas. Last year’s report found that 80% of technologists were confident in their skills, but this year’s report shows a different picture.
The top three skills technologists and technology managers are prioritizing to drive business value are cybersecurity, data science, and cloud. However, the report found that only 17% of technologists are completely confident in their cybersecurity skills while 21% are not confident at all. Additionally, 25% of technologists are completely confident in their data skills, while 8% are not confident at all. Furthermore, only 21% of technologists are completely confident in their cloud skills, while 17% are not confident at all.
The report identifies lack of time and budget as the biggest barriers to upskilling over the past two years. For technologists who secure the time or budget to prioritize upskilling, 30% don’t know where to focus their skills development, while 25% aren’t sure which resources to leverage.
With 85% of organizations actively engaged in, or planning to begin, a digital transformation project in 2023, technologists need guided learning mapped to key business outcomes. The report suggests guided learning can help technologists gain skills and achieve business objectives.
Pluralsight is the leading technology workforce development company, helping companies and teams build better products by developing critical skills, improving processes, and gaining insights through data. Pluralsight Skills provides expert-authored courses on today’s most important technologies, including cloud, artificial intelligence and machine learning, data science, and security, among others. Skills also includes tools to align skill development with business objectives, virtual instructor-led training, hands-on labs, skill assessments, and analytics. Flow complements Skills by providing engineering teams with actionable data and visibility into workflow patterns to accelerate the delivery of products and services.
To gain more insights, the full 2023 State of Upskilling Report can be downloaded from the Pluralsight website.
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