23rd Annual Global CEO Survey | PwC

One finding of the PwC 23rd Annual Global CEO Survey is, that while the majority of CEOs agreed that significant retraining and upskilling was the most important way to close a potential skills gaps in their organization, fewer than 1 in 5 leaders (18%) believe their organization has made ‘significant progress’ in doing so. Upskilling was defined as “an organization’s clear intent to develop its employees’ capabilities and employability and to advance and progress their technical, soft, and digital skills.” Four key forces are driving the upskilling imperative. 1) increased job automation, 2) decreased talent availability, 3) declining mobility of skilled labor, 4) a rapidly aging labor force in many markets. Similar to other articles, this report emphasizes how increases in automation, changes in demographics, and new regulations will make it much harder for organizations to attract and retain the skilled talent they need. As a result, organizations need an increased focus on growing their own future workforce. Pages 24- 35 focuses on the upskilling component.