Successfully identify & close skill gaps
Your best employees do not have the skills they will need tomorrow. While AI tools are revolutionizing working life and hybrid teams are becoming the norm, new skills gaps are emerging every day. The fatal thing is that many companies recognize these skill gaps too late. How do you systematically identify skills gaps and close them sustainably? This article shows you how to use a targeted skills gap analysis to identify skills gaps and develop effective strategies. You will learn which skills are particularly in demand and how self-directed learning efficiently overcomes skill gaps.
Definition: What are skill gaps?
Skill gaps - both terms describe the same phenomenon: the discrepancy between employees' existing skills and the skills needed to meet current or future requirements. These skills gaps arise due to various factors: rapid technological progress, demographic change as experienced employees transition into retirement and changing working models that require new skills.
Skill gaps are far more than just a personnel issue - they have a direct impact on a company's success and competitiveness. If critical skills are missing, this can limit the ability to innovate, reduce productivity and hinder the ability to react to market changes. The systematic analysis and closure of skills gaps thus becomes a decisive competitive advantage that significantly strengthens the future viability and resilience of your organization.
Skills gap analysis: systematically identifying skills gaps
Before you can close skills gaps, you need to know where they exist and how big they are. A well-founded skills gap analysis is the first and most important step on the way to a future-proof workforce. It makes it possible to identify needs at an early stage and plan targeted measures for skills development.
Methods for an effective skills gap assessment
There are various approaches for a precise skills gap analysis. For example, the following have proven successful:
- Competence frameworks: Clearly define which skills are required for each position and future strategic direction of your company. This creates a target specification.
- Employee surveys and self-assessments: Enable your employees to assess their own skills and express their development needs.
- Performance reviews and feedback discussions: Use existing processes to evaluate current skills in comparison with requirements.
- Observation at the workplace: Direct insights can provide additional information about practical skills.
- Analyze project and team compositions: Recognize which skills are missing or need to be strengthened in certain projects.
A combination of these methods gives you a comprehensive picture of existing and missing skills.
Employee feedback as the key to identification
Actively involving your employees in the skills gap analysis is essential. Who knows better where things are "stuck" than the people who are confronted with the tasks and challenges on a daily basis?
Regular and open feedback discussions, anonymous surveys or structured one-to-one meetings help to paint a realistic picture of the skills gaps. Your employees feel that their assessment is taken seriously and are therefore more motivated to actively participate in skills development.
Tools & techniques for skills analysis
You can use various tools to efficiently design the skills gap analysis process. Special software solutions for talent management or HR analytics make it possible to create skills profiles, visualize skills gaps and identify development paths.
Modern Learning Experience Platforms (LXP) are also increasingly offering functions for skills development and tracking. They can help to maintain an overview of existing skills and provide suitable learning content to close skill gaps. Such platforms not only facilitate the analysis, but also the planning and implementation of further training measures.
The most common skill gaps: Which skills are missing?
According to the Haufe Akademie 's L&D (Learning & Development) Report 2025, 79% of companies are already complaining about skills gaps among their employees. But which skills are actually missing? An analysis of the most sought-after skills shows: The skill gaps are concentrated in three key areas that are crucial to the company's success.
Focus on digital competencies & AI skills
Analytical thinking tops the list of the most important skills for the future - 69% of companies consider this skill to be indispensable. This is directly followed by technological skills (51%) and AI and big data skills (45%). These digital skills gaps arise because technologies are developing faster than employee training. Although many specialists understand basic digital processes, they are unable to carry out complex data analyses or use AI tools strategically.
Leadership skills of the future
61% of companies identify leadership and social influence as a key skills gap. Modern managers need to lead hybrid teams, manage complex change processes and demonstrate emotional intelligence - skills that traditional leadership approaches do not cover. Agile methods, diversity skills and the ability to navigate teams through uncertainty are particularly in demand. More about Future Leadership Skills >>
Soft skills & social skills
The biggest surprise: soft skills are among the most important skills for the future.
Creative thinking (57%), empathy and active listening (50%) as well as resilience and flexibility (67%) are at the top of the priority list.
These skill gaps show: Human skills are not becoming less important in a digitalized world, but more valuable, as they enable complex problem solving, successful communication and rapid adaptation.
Causes of skill gaps: Why do skill gaps arise?
Skill gaps are the result of profound changes in the economy and society. Three key factors are driving the development of skills gaps particularly strongly and are presenting companies with new challenges in terms of personnel development.
Technological change as a driver
The rapid development of new technologies is overtaking traditional qualifications faster than ever before. The use of artificial intelligence in particular is fundamentally changing job profiles: while AI-supported training has increased by 72%, many employees lack the necessary skills to use these tools.
Demographic change & shortage of skilled workers
Demographic change and the associated generational change are significantly exacerbating existing skills gaps. Experienced specialists are retiring and taking valuable knowledge with them, while younger generations are bringing different priorities and working methods with them.
At the same time, the shortage of skilled workers means that companies are filling positions with less qualified candidates. This creates additional skills gaps that can be closed through targeted further training measures.
Changing working models & requirements
Hybrid working models and agile methods require completely new skills from employees and managers. Remote collaboration, digital communication and self-organized work were niche skills just a few years ago - today they are standard. This rapid transformation of the world of work is creating skills gaps for established employees who have to adapt their tried-and-tested working methods to new realities.
Strategies against skill gaps: closing skills gaps sustainably
Identifying skill gaps is only the first step - developing effective strategies to systematically close skills gaps is crucial. Successful companies rely on a mix of structured further training measures and flexible learning formats that are geared towards the individual needs of employees.
Develop targeted further training measures
Effective skill gap strategies start with a clear needs analysis: What skills does your company need today and in the future? Based on this analysis, you can develop tailored training programs that teach both technical and methodological skills. Hybrid learning formats that combine classroom training with digital self-study units are particularly successful, offering maximum flexibility with sustainable learning success.
Promote & support self-directed learning
68 % of employees state in the L&D (Learning & Development) Report 2025 that further training helps them to adapt to changing conditions - and they learn best when they can determine how and when they develop new skills themselves.
Encourage self-directed learning through user-friendly learning platforms with personalized learning paths. Microlearning formats and mobile learning apps allow your employees to close skill gaps flexibly in their day-to-day work without long downtimes.
Establish mentoring & peer learning
The most effective strategy against skill gaps utilizes the existing knowledge in the company:
88% of employees enjoy learning through exchanges with colleagues.
Establish structured mentoring programs that bring experienced professionals together with learners and create spaces for peer learning. These approaches promote knowledge transfer, strengthen the corporate culture and reduce the risk of knowledge loss due to staff turnover.
Continuous learning: the basis for future-proof skills
Skill gaps are not a one-off problem, but a permanent challenge in a rapidly changing world of work. Companies that successfully tackle skills gaps establish a culture of continuous learning. Intrinsic motivation plays a decisive role here: 83% of seminar participants book further training courses of their own accord.
Create a Learners Organization
A Learners organization needs structural prerequisites and clear strategies:
- Establish fixed learning times: 87% of employees consider it important to have time for further training.
- Carry out regular skills gap assessments: This allows you to identify new skills gaps at an early stage and take targeted countermeasures.
- Promote knowledge exchange: Create structures for exchange between teams and departments.
- Position managers as role models: They actively demonstrate their own willingness to learn and thus motivate their employees.
Flexible learning formats for sustainable skills development
Modern learning formats adapt to the needs of employees: 73% find it easy to learn with videos and interactive formats. Learning nuggets of 5 to 15 minutes can be perfectly integrated into everyday working life and help to continuously close skill gaps. Interest in mobile learning solutions is growing rapidly: demand for learning apps has risen by 65.9% - a clear signal of the shift towards flexible, demand-oriented learning formats.
Measuring success: KPIs for your skill development
Without measurable results, your measures against skill gaps remain just well-meaning intentions. Successful companies define clear metrics to track the progress of their skills development and continuously optimize their strategies. This is not just about participant numbers, but about real skills growth and business benefits.
Define relevant key figures
The most important KPIs for skill development measure both quantitative and qualitative aspects:
- Learning activity (average learning time per employee)
- Skill progress (skill gap reduction in percent)
- Application in everyday work (transfer rate)
Before-and-after comparisons through regular skills gap assessments are particularly meaningful as they show which skills gaps have actually been closed. Supplement these hard figures with employee feedback on learning satisfaction and the practical benefits of the skills acquired.
Documenting and evaluating progress
Modern learning platforms provide valuable data on the learning behavior of your employees: Which content is used most frequently? Where do Learners drop out? These findings help you to optimize your further training offerings. Document not only participation in training courses, but also the practical application of new skills. Conduct regular follow-up meetings to find out which skills are actually being used in day-to-day work and where support is still needed.
Continuous adaptation of the strategy
Skill development is a dynamic process that requires regular course correction. Review your KPIs on a quarterly basis and adjust your measures based on the results. Identify both successful formats that you should expand and less effective approaches that need to be revised. Use the insights gained to identify new skill gaps at an early stage and proactively take countermeasures before skills gaps become a real problem.
Haufe Akademie: Your partner for sustainable skills development
Successfully closing skill gaps starts with the right tools and the right partner at your side. Haufe Akademie works with you to create a learning culture that develops individual potential while achieving strategic corporate goals. Our Digital Suite combines proven expertise with innovative technology - for learning experiences that really resonate.
Two building blocks for your success:
- Learning Experience Platform (LXP): Decide for yourself how your employees want to learn. Our platform adapts to individual needs and turns skills development into a personal experience of success. Each learning path leads specifically to where it is needed - with increasingly intelligent functions for skills development.
- Content Kit: The microlearning library offers your employees access to numerous learning nuggets that can be completed at the moment of need and can be ideally integrated into everyday working life. Modern formats such as videos or audio are particularly popular with employees and increase their motivation to learn.
- Content CollectionThe flat rate for effective e-learning is just right if your employees want to delve deeper into topics. The growing range of courses covers all business-relevant topics - from communication and leadership skills to AI and project management.
With the Haufe Akademie , you invest in more than just further training. You shape the future of your company through people who seize their opportunities and develop their full potential. Flexible learning formats such as microlearning support the path to self-directed, continuous learning.
FAQ
What is the difference between skill gap and skills gap?
Both terms refer to the same phenomenon: the gap between existing and required skills. "Skill gap" is the more common spelling in German-speaking countries, while "skills gap" is often used in international contexts. In terms of content, there is no difference - both terms describe skills gaps in companies.
How do I carry out a skills gap analysis?
A systematic skills gap analysis is carried out in the following steps: First, define the skills required for each position. Then evaluate the current skills of your employees through assessments, self-assessments or 360-degree feedback. Identify the gaps between the target and actual status, prioritize critical skill gaps and develop targeted measures for skills development.
Which tools help to identify skills gaps?
Learning experience platforms offer integrated tools for skill gap assessments. Employee surveys, structured feedback interviews and external assessment centers are also suitable. Regular team retrospectives, in which employees can identify skills gaps themselves, are particularly valuable.
How can self-directed learning close skill gaps?
Self-directed learning is particularly effective because it utilizes intrinsic motivation and adapts flexibly to individual needs. Microlearning formats, mobile learning apps and personalized learning paths enable employees to close skills gaps in a targeted manner and at their own pace. The key lies in providing user-friendly learning platforms and relevant content with direct practical relevance.
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