ADP Research: Only 24% of Global Workers Are Confident They Have Skills for Career Advancement
ADP Research reveals concerning findings about global workforce skills development in their 'People at Work 2025' report. Only 24% of workers globally feel confident they have skills for career advancement, while merely 17% strongly agree their employers invest in their skill development.
The study, based on nearly 38,000 workers across 34 markets, shows workers who receive proper training are 6 times more likely to recommend their company and 3.3 times more productive. Regional disparities are significant: Middle East & Africa leads with 38% of workers confident in their advancement skills, while Europe lags at 17%.
Particularly concerning is the situation of cycle workers, with only 9% of men and 7% of women satisfied with upskilling opportunities. The research emphasizes that career advancement opportunities are second only to scheduling flexibility in retaining workers.
La ricerca ADP rivela risultati preoccupanti sullo sviluppo delle competenze della forza lavoro globale nel loro rapporto 'Persone al lavoro 2025'. Solo il 24% dei lavoratori a livello globale si sente sicuro di avere le competenze per progredire nella carriera, mentre solo il 17% concorda fortemente sul fatto che i propri datori di lavoro investano nello sviluppo delle loro competenze.
Lo studio, basato su quasi 38.000 lavoratori in 34 mercati, mostra che i lavoratori che ricevono una formazione adeguata hanno 6 volte più probabilità di raccomandare la loro azienda e sono 3,3 volte più produttivi. Le disparità regionali sono significative: il Medio Oriente e l'Africa guidano con il 38% dei lavoratori sicuri delle proprie competenze per l'avanzamento, mentre l'Europa è indietro al 17%.
Particolarmente preoccupante è la situazione dei lavoratori ciclici, con solo il 9% degli uomini e il 7% delle donne soddisfatti delle opportunità di aggiornamento. La ricerca sottolinea che le opportunità di avanzamento nella carriera sono seconde solo alla flessibilità nella pianificazione per trattenere i lavoratori.
La investigación de ADP revela hallazgos preocupantes sobre el desarrollo de habilidades en la fuerza laboral global en su informe 'Personas en el Trabajo 2025'. Solo el 24% de los trabajadores a nivel mundial se siente seguro de tener las habilidades necesarias para avanzar en su carrera, mientras que solo el 17% está muy de acuerdo en que sus empleadores invierten en su desarrollo de habilidades.
El estudio, que se basa en casi 38.000 trabajadores en 34 mercados, muestra que los trabajadores que reciben una capacitación adecuada tienen 6 veces más probabilidades de recomendar su empresa y son 3.3 veces más productivos. Las disparidades regionales son significativas: Oriente Medio y África lideran con un 38% de trabajadores seguros en sus habilidades de avance, mientras que Europa se queda atrás con un 17%.
Particularmente preocupante es la situación de los trabajadores cíclicos, con solo el 9% de los hombres y el 7% de las mujeres satisfechos con las oportunidades de mejora. La investigación enfatiza que las oportunidades de avance en la carrera son las segundas más importantes después de la flexibilidad en la programación para retener a los trabajadores.
ADP 연구는 '2025년 일하는 사람들' 보고서에서 글로벌 인력 기술 개발에 대한 우려스러운 사실을 드러냅니다. 전 세계 직원 중 24%만이 경력 발전에 필요한 기술에 자신이 있다고 느끼며, 고작 17%만이 고용주가 자신들의 기술 개발에 투자한다고 강하게 동의합니다.
이 연구는 34개 시장에서 거의 38,000명의 근로자를 대상으로 하였으며, 적절한 교육을 받은 직원들이 자신의 회사를 추천할 가능성이 6배 더 높고 생산성이 3.3배 더 높다는 것을 보여줍니다. 지역 간 차이는 상당합니다: 중동과 아프리카는 경력 발전 기술에 자신 있는 직원이 38%로 가장 높지만, 유럽은 17%에 그칩니다.
특히 우려되는 것은 사이클 근로자들의 상황으로, 남성의 9%와 여성의 7%만이 스킬 향상 기회에 만족하고 있습니다. 연구는 경력 발전 기회가 직원 유지를 위한 중요한 요소 중 두 번째로 중요하다고 강조합니다.
La recherche d'ADP révèle des résultats préoccupants concernant le développement des compétences dans la main-d'œuvre mondiale dans son rapport 'Les personnes au travail 2025'. Seulement 24% des travailleurs à l'échelle mondiale se sentent confiants d'avoir les compétences nécessaires pour progresser dans leur carrière, tandis que seulement 17% sont fortement d'accord pour dire que leurs employeurs investissent dans le développement de leurs compétences.
L'étude, basée sur près de 38 000 travailleurs dans 34 marchés, montre que les travailleurs qui reçoivent une formation appropriée ont 6 fois plus de chances de recommander leur entreprise et sont 3,3 fois plus productifs. Les disparités régionales sont significatives : le Moyen-Orient et l'Afrique se classent en tête avec 38% des travailleurs confiants dans leurs compétences de progression, tandis que l'Europe est à la traîne avec 17%.
Particulièrement préoccupante est la situation des travailleurs cycliques, avec seulement 9% des hommes et 7% des femmes satisfaits des opportunités de développement de compétences. La recherche souligne que les opportunités d'avancement de carrière sont la deuxième priorité après la flexibilité du travail pour retenir les travailleurs.
Die ADP-Forschung enthüllt besorgniserregende Ergebnisse zur Entwicklung von Kompetenzen in der globalen Arbeitswelt in ihrem Bericht 'Menschen bei der Arbeit 2025'. Nur 24% der Arbeitnehmer weltweit fühlen sich sicher, dass sie über die erforderlichen Fähigkeiten für den beruflichen Aufstieg verfügen, während lediglich 17% stark zustimmen, dass ihre Arbeitgeber in die Entwicklung ihrer Fähigkeiten investieren.
Die Studie, die sich auf fast 38.000 Arbeitnehmer in 34 Märkten stützt, zeigt, dass Arbeitnehmer, die eine angemessene Schulung erhalten, 6-mal wahrscheinlicher ihre Firma empfehlen und 3,3-mal produktiver sind. Regionale Unterschiede sind signifikant: Der Nahe Osten und Afrika führen mit 38% der Arbeitnehmer, die zuversichtlich in Bezug auf ihre Aufstiegsmöglichkeiten sind, während Europa mit 17% zurückliegt.
Besonders besorgniserregend ist die Situation der Zyklusarbeiter, von denen nur 9% der Männer und 7% der Frauen mit den Aufstiegsmöglichkeiten zufrieden sind. Die Forschung betont, dass die Aufstiegsmöglichkeiten nur nach der Flexibilität der Arbeitszeit an zweiter Stelle stehen, wenn es darum geht, Arbeitnehmer zu halten.
- Workers with proper training are 6x more likely to recommend their company
- Trained employees are 3.3x more productive
- Trained workers are 2x more likely to stay with their organization
- Only 24% of workers feel confident in having skills for career advancement
- Just 17% believe their employers invest in their skill development
- Cycle workers show extremely low satisfaction with upskilling (9% men, 7% women)
- Significant regional disparities in workforce development opportunities
Insights
The global workforce survey reveals a critical skills development gap that directly impacts ADP's core business of HR management solutions. With only
The regional disparities are particularly telling - Europe's notably low confidence levels (
The 3.3x productivity boost and 6x increase in employer advocacy among well-trained workers represents a quantifiable ROI for workforce development investments. The particularly low satisfaction rates among cycle workers (
The study's robust methodology, sampling nearly 38,000 workers across 34 markets, provides credible insights for workforce planning. The proprietary classification of workers into knowledge, skilled task and cyclical categories offers a nuanced understanding of training needs across different worker segments, enabling more targeted HR solutions and potentially driving demand for ADP's services.
Study examines the untapped potential of workers in the first of a series of studies comprising the refreshed "People at Work 2025" report, built on the ADP Research Global Workforce Survey
For employers, the need to prioritize skills development is deeper than building a workforce that keeps pace with today's dynamic workplace. ADP Research's analysis found providing employees with the skills of tomorrow is correlated to productivity, retention and reputation.
"Our research shows that a skilled workforce is more loyal to their employers—and more productive. Yet only a small fraction of workers are upskilled within two years of being hired," said Nela Richardson, chief economist, ADP. "If companies want to benefit from the enormous technological advancement to come, they must start with investing in the skills and career progression of their workers."
The skills development analysis launches "People at Work 2025," ADP Research's annual lens into the world of work that has been given a data refresh in 2025 in addition to being revamped as a series of reports on various workplace topics. The refreshed report is built on workplace data and topics from ADP Research's Global Workforce Survey which has been conducted since 2015. "People at Work" provides comprehensive worker sentiment on how workers feel and think, as well as what they expect from their employer, with a purpose to empower employers to meet challenges and capitalize on opportunities amid a rapidly changing world of work.
The Untapped Potential of Workers
In the first installment of the "People at Work 2025" report series, the ADP Research team examined the impact of skills development learned through on-the-job training and found most workers think their employers could be doing better when it comes to skills development. The analysis further finds the business opportunity that comes with building out comprehensive training programs that help ensure employees are prepared for tomorrow's world of work.
"We found that education is not enough to fill the skills gap," said Mary Hayes, research director of People & Performance at ADP Research. "Only 24 percent of workers are confident that they have the skills needed to advance in the next three years of their careers. The world of work is changing at light speed, and organizations need to do their part to close the skills gap."
Other key findings include:
- The opportunity to get ahead is important, and not just for workers. When workers globally were asked to provide the top reasons why they would stay with their employer, the opportunity for career advancement is second only to flexibility in scheduling.
- Workers who feel strongly their employer is providing the training they need are nearly 6 times more likely to recommend their company as a great place to work.
- These same workers are also 3.3 times more likely to describe themselves as highly-productive.
- They're also twice as likely to say they have no intent to leave their organization compared to workers who have the skills but lack on-the-job training opportunities.
- Cycle workers, those that do similar repetitive tasks daily, in particular have a dismal view of employer investment, with only 9 percent of men and 7 percent of women expressing satisfaction in their upskilling opportunities.
The refreshed "People at Work 2025" series will dive deep into key topics at a market-by-market level, crucial for the increasingly borderless world of work. Digging into some of the market-by-market findings from the skills development launch story, ADP Research's analysis reveals:
- Workers in the
Middle East &Africa were most likely to believe they have the skills needed to advance their career to the next job level in the next three years (38% ), followed byLatin America (32% ),North America (22% ),Asia-Pacific (21% ), andEurope (17% ). - Workers in the
Middle East &Africa were also the most likely to say their employer invests in the skills needed to advance their career in the future (28% ), followed byNorth America (18% ),Latin America andAsia-Pacific (17% ), andEurope (12% ). - By markets, workers in
Nigeria were the most likely to believe they have the skills needed to advance their career to the next job level in the next three years (45% ), followed byEgypt (44% ),South Africa (42% ),India andBrazil (37% ), Saudi Arabia (36% ),Chile (32% ),Argentina (30% ), andPeru (30% ). - By markets, workers in
Egypt were the most likely to say their employer invests in the skills needed to advance their career in the future (35% ), followed byIndia (32% ),South Africa (29% ),Saudi Arabia (28% ),Nigeria (27% ),Brazil andThailand (24% ),Vietnam andSingapore (23% ), andPhilippines (21% ).
"People at Work 2025" Report Series Methodology
For the first time, "People at Work" is built on the ADP Research Global Workforce Survey, a robust study conducted annually since 2015. The survey was designed by ADP Research's team of analysts by obtaining information about the labor market from the perspective of workers themselves, with the goal of providing insights that can improve the world of work by better understanding worker sentiment and expectations.
Based on survey data from nearly 38,000 working adults in 34 markets across six continents, "People at Work 2025" features a more robust, representative sample of the global workforce to provide regional and market-to-market comparisons of worker sentiment in the
Respondents come from a wide variety of industries, educational backgrounds, on-site and remote work environments and skill sets. They represent a range of management and individual contributor roles, working for employers of all sizes.
A unique attribute of the "People at Work 2025" report series is its measurement of worker sentiment in granular detail across worker types using a proprietary methodology developed by ADP Research. In addition to demographic and employer characteristics, survey respondents are classified by the type of work they do – knowledge, skilled task, or cyclical – regardless of industry.
"People at Work's" ability to gather sentiment along these different worker and geographical dimensions provides employers with a fine-tuned and granular view of the global workforce that they can leverage to better understand their workforces and drive growth through data-driven talent decisions.
"The future of work will be increasingly global and dynamic in its priorities," said Richardson. "The new People at Work series format enables a more focused analysis of the data by topic and region, better ensuring worldwide business leaders with varying needs are provided with the same level of actionable research on a wide range of subjects impacting their employees."
Each report will pair global trends with market-by-market insights on workplace topics ranging from artificial intelligence and inflation's impact on having multiple jobs, to wage trends and career development.
Stay Up-to-Date on the "People at Work 2025" Report Series
Publishing throughout early 2025, the revamped "People at Work 2025" report series can help companies stay on the right track for today's workplace, while prepare them to capitalize on the opportunities that will come with the future of work.
To stay current on the latest studies in the "People at Work 2025" report series, visit here.
About ADP Research
The mission of ADP Research is to make the future of work more productive through data-driven discovery. Companies, workers, and policymakers rely on our finely tuned data and unique perspective to make informed decisions that impact workplaces around the world.
About ADP (NASDAQ – ADP)
Designing better ways to work through cutting-edge products, premium services and exceptional experiences that enable people to reach their full potential. HR, Talent, Time Management, Benefits and Payroll. Informed by data and designed for people. Learn more at ADP.com.
ADP, the ADP logo, and Always Designing for People, ADP National Employment Report, ADP Research Institute and ADP Research are trademarks of ADP, Inc. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.
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SOURCE ADP, Inc.
FAQ
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