The Industrial Strategy Council looks at which qualifications, knowledge and workplace skills are likely to face greater or lesser mismatch by 2030 as a result of the changing nature of work.
Existing evidence suggests the UK’s demand for skills – particularly technology and interpersonal/people skills – will increase considerably over the next decade, while the supply of those skills will be constrained. Skills mismatch can reflect both skill shortage and skill surplus. For example, the spread of automation and AI could boost productivity in some sectors but also displace some lower skilled jobs, while the demand for highly skilled labour will increase, as R&D and innovation become critical in a future tech-led economy. Such trends are highlighted by the Industrial Strategy Grand Challenges.
A skills mismatch can act as a drag on economic growth by limiting the employment and earnings opportunities of individuals and impacting on firm performance and productivity. UK firms have previously reported that lack of access to the right skills was the number one threat to the competitiveness of the UK labour market. The new in-depth analysis in this paper shows that, with 80% of the 2030 workforce already in the workforce today, reskilling the existing workforce will be the major challenge between now and 2030.