Main conclusions
1) Skill building is not the priority
Contrary to global practices, companies in the Baltics are mainly focused on recruiting candidates from outside the company instead of upskilling their current employees. It was also discovered that within Latvia 41% of employees do not know what to learn to maintain competitiveness and stay useful for the labor market thus directly attributing to the unfortunate conditions for the employee skills gap only to widen. It is clear that initiative and clear guidelines from employers are essential.
2) Skill building is not approached strategically
65% of companies admitted that their approach to upskilling is not strategically built with the efforts being short-sighted and not considering the long-term strategic business goals.
3) Skill building is poorly supported by employers
4) Skill building is bringing positive effects
Despite all the challenges, the upside of investing in employees was confirmed by 76% of companies reporting improved employee productivity. 51% reported employees being more able to realize the company’s strategy and 29% of companies reported an increased ability to recruit from within the company.
To read more on the topic and for finding the current and future skill top plus the measures an employer can take to encourage participation in work-related training, download the full report.
