.webp)
Before you read on, why not check out our updated L&D trends list for 2022!
2020 could be the turning point for workplace learning, so we decided to compile 20 statistics on the state of L&D that reflect where we are today. And they were all genuinely published in 2020! How often have you clicked on a list of facts with the year in the title, only to find numbers dating back a little too far?
Some were published at the start of the year, others reflect the impact of COVID-19, but together they paint an insightful picture of where learning and development sits in 2020 and indicate where we’re heading next.
Let’s start with the elephant in the virtual classroom, COVID-19 flipped the world of work on its head and drove an immediate change in learning habits. Kitchens became offices, face-to-face training was put on hold and we all headed online for our learning fix.
1) Employees spent 130% more time learning in March/April 2020 than they did in January/February.
Source: LinkedIn, based on LinkedIn Learning data, June 2020
2) There was a 126% increase in learning paths created by LinkedIn Learning admins for employees during March/April 2020 when compared to January/February.
Source: LinkedIn, based on LinkedIn Learning data, June 2020
3) 54% of respondents in the 2020 Learning State of the Industry survey are more positive about the next 12-18 months.
Source: Chief Learning Officer, 2020 Learning State of the Industry, June 2020
4) A combined total of 73% of respondents agree or strongly agree that their company will be looking to develop more custom content, in the same survey.
Source: Chief Learning Officer, 2020 Learning State of the Industry, June 2020
5) 74% of L&D professionals believe skill building is the most critical part of rebuilding for the future, while 62% are actively helping employees build the skills they need to stay in the organisation.
Source: LinkedIn, based on LinkedIn Learning data, June 2020
Furloughing, redundancies and staff upheaval almost certainly drove a huge wedge into the existing skill gaps. Even before the pandemic, there was a perception that closing skill gaps would be a key issue in 2020 and beyond, and the numbers show that this sparked many into action once COVID-19 began.
6) 74% agree that a skills gap persists in the current U.S. labour and hiring economy
Source: U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Hiring in the Modern Talent Marketplace, February 2020
7) A quarter of people are attempting to upskill in the hope they will be indispensable or employable elsewhere, according to a study of 1,000 people.
Source: PeopleCert, May 2020
8) A separate study of 1,000 business owners by PeopleCert found six in 10 job applicants lack the skills employers are looking for.
Source: PeopleCert, May 2020
9) 18% of respondents named ‘address skills shortages and skills gaps’ in their top three organisational priorities for the next 12 months.
This placed it seventh in the overall list, with achieve growth targets (27%), improve customer experience (25%) and increase productivity (24%) topping the poll.
Source: The CIPD and Accenture, Learning and Skills at Work 2020, June 2020
10) Training and developing existing employees is the typical response to tackling the skill gap, used by 67% of respondents.
Source: The CIPD and Accenture, Learning and Skills at Work 2020, June 2020
Is employee engagement still a key issue in 2020? The numbers would argue so, with employee disengagement a common theme and data indicating that there is an issue understanding what’s driving this disconnect.
11) Only one-third of employees surveyed (33%) plan to stay at their jobs this year, compared to 47% who said the same in 2019.
Source: Achievers, January 2020
12) In fact, just 19% of employees surveyed consider themselves very engaged, while 14% are fully disengaged.
Source: Achievers, January 2020
13) Only 22% of companies know what’s driving employee disengagement, compared to 39% that claimed they do know.
Source: The Predictive Index, January 2020
14) Employee performance and productivity are what keep executives up at night, topping a poll with 34%.
Respondents were asked to select up to three options from a list of 13 to answer what aspect of their job keeps them up at night.
Source: The Predictive Index, January 2020
15) Education is key for employee engagement. When asked which areas they’d prefer their employer to offer perks and assistance in, 55% of Latin American respondents chose Education—notably higher than in Asia Pacific (46%), EMEA (40%), and North America (37%).
Source: Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company, 2019/2020 Global Benefits Attitudes Survey Report, February 2020
We’re rounding this up with five statistics that didn’t really fit into any particular category, but they’re breaking the mould to highlight key issues in budgets, learning platform usage and measuring development.
16) 37% of talent developers will have seen their development budgets increasing this year.
Source: Statista, March 2020
17) Learning technologies are now used by 79% of employers.
Source: The CIPD and Accenture, Learning and Skills at Work 2020, June 2020
18) 74% of L&D professionals expect to have a lot more online learning post-COVID-19.
This follows on from the 59% who stated they would increase the amount of online learning delivered in the short term.
Source: LinkedIn, based on LinkedIn Learning data, June 2020
19) 53% of L&D departments are either not measured or are only subject to basic measurements (such as content utilisation or learner satisfaction).
Source: Instilled, 2020 Measuring the Business Impact of Learning Report, February 2020
20) Only 29% of organisations claim to have clear learning and development plans for their employees.
Source: The CIPD and Accenture, Learning and Skills at Work 2020, June 2020
Click the image below
Do any of these statistics strike a chord with you? If remote learning, upskilling or employee engagement are your biggest challenge, get in touch with us today!
%20(1).webp)
.webp)
.webp)
.webp)
.webp)
.webp)
