Most American Workers Acknowledge a Skills Gap but Say It Doesn’t Apply to Them

 According to the new Udemy Skills Gap Index, an independent survey by Udemy, 61 percent of Americans believe that the workforce suffers from a skills gap, but do not see themselves as part of the problem. The data revealed that, despite a perception among American workers that a skills gap exists, 95 percent consider themselves to be either qualified or overqualified for the positions that they personally hold.

The “skills gap” refers to a disparity between the skills Americans have and those that employers are seeking. The revelation that most Americans do not believe the skills gap applies to them comes even as 40 percent of U.S. employers report difficulty in filling vacant positions with qualified employees.

The Udemy Skills Gap Index key findings include:

• A gender disconnect in perceptions of the skills gap, with 68 percent of men believing in its existence, compared to 55 percent of women.
• While almost half of Americans say their higher education helped them get their first job, more than a third believe they use less than 10 percent of what they learned in college in the workplace.
• A majority of millennials (53 percent) feel that they have already mastered the skills their jobs require of them, as compared to 43 percent of baby boomers.
• 36 percent of people seeking a new job report taking no extra action (such as taking an online course, attending networking events or visiting a recruiter) to boost their chances of getting hired.