Half of Companies Report Skills Shortages
Half of Companies Report Skills Shortages
Employers urged to invest in modern skills training and check it is working
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Almost half of United States (US) employers are struggling with a skills shortage.1 Meanwhile United Kingdom (UK) companies claim a lack of available skills has cost them £6.3 billion.2 Questionmark, the online assessment provider, is urging employers to invest in effective workplace training to secure the crucial modern skills they need to thrive.
In the third quarter of 2021, 47% of US businesses reported struggling with a lack of crucial skills. This has risen from 32% in the previous quarter according to research by the National Association of Business Economics.3 UK companies claim that recruitment processes are taking longer due to a shortage of skills in the marketplace. Many organizations are being forced to hire at a lower level than they intended, according to the Open University’s business barometer.4
Neil McGough, General Manager of Questionmark, said: “Employers need modern skills now and it's clear that they will struggle to get what they need without a focus on employee skills development. Ensuring that workers have the essential modern skills for today’s business environment means investing in workplace training. But to do this effectively, leaders must be sure they understand what kind of training is required, which team members need support and whether the training is working.”
Online assessments enable employers to gain real information on strengths and weaknesses across the workforce. They can quickly see which skills are missing and what the priority areas for training should be. By testing participants before, during and after training, employers can be confident that it worked.
The Questionmark enterprise-grade platform makes assessment content easy to create and adapt. The platform automatically marks papers and instantly compiles results. It is easy to spot trends and patterns. When the stakes are high, the platform provides a range of anti-cheating measures.
Ends
Notes to editors
About Questionmark
Questionmark unlocks performance through reliable and secure online assessments.
Questionmark provides a secure enterprise-grade assessment platform and professional services to leading organizations around the world, delivered with care and unequalled expertise. Its full-service online assessment tool and professional services help customers to improve their performance and meet their compliance requirements. Questionmark enables organizations to unlock their potential by delivering assessments which are valid, reliable, fair and defensible.
Questionmark offers secure powerful integration with other LMS, LRS and proctoring services making it easy to bring everything together in one place. Questionmark's cloud-based assessment management platform offers rapid deployment, scalability for high-volume test delivery, 24/7 support, and the peace-of-mind of secure, audited U.S., Australian and European-based data centers.
1 https://edition.cnn.com/2021/10/25/economy/business-conditions-worker-shortage/index.html
2 https://www.open.ac.uk/business/apprenticeships/blog/uk-skills-shortage-costing-organisations-%C2%A363-billion
3 https://edition.cnn.com/2021/10/25/economy/business-conditions-worker-shortage/index.html
4 https://www.open.ac.uk/business/apprenticeships/blog/uk-skills-shortage-costing-organisations-%C2%A363-billion
Contacts
For more information:
US: Kristin Bernor, external relations: Kristin.bernor@questionmark.com +1 203.349.6438
UK: Peter Sigrist: peter.sigrist@fourteenforty.uk +44 7720 056 981
Australia and New Zealand: Chelsea Dowd: chelsea.dowd@questionmark.com +61 2 8073 0527
