Business survey shows skills gap remains a challenge

A global engineering, technology and consulting service provider, today announced the results of new research that points to an increased urgency in digital transformation programmes.

Expleo commissioned a survey of 1,030 business and IT leaders from large organisations across France, Germany, Ireland, the UK and the US to understand the motivations and effectiveness of business transformation projects worldwide.

This research informs Expleo’s “Business Transformation Index 2022”, a new report providing a comprehensive analysis of the critical success factors of such programmes. Half of respondents believe skills shortage is a major barrier to achieving digital transformation.

Of those surveyed, nearly half (49 per cent) of UK respondents believe the skills gap and talent shortages are the main challenges to achieving business transformation, and 82 per cent believe that skills shortages in technical disciplines are having an impact on their organisation’s future plans.

However, there is also a need to address the skills gap – as 72 per cent of leaders believe that a lack of skills or experience internally to competently manage emerging technologies (such as AI/ML and AR/VR) is a problem when implementing new digital transformation initiatives.

In the UK, 61 per cent of respondents believe that a bold approach to digital technologies will leave them better placed to succeed, a figure in line with global findings. By comparison, just 27 per cent believe that a cautious approach that waits for technology to mature is more likely to lead to success.

Despite the overall preference for a bold approach, 61 per cent also believe that not having a sufficiently bold vision is a problem when their organisation is implementing new digital transformation initiatives, demonstrating a disconnect between their ambitions and how they are operating in practice.