Employers face a growing struggle in their inability to find enough skilled workers to fill vacant positions and they report that skill deficiencies among current employees are dragging down productivity.

In a recent study sponsored by the Washington D.C. based Business Roundtable association, nearly two-thirds of employers – 62 percent – report that they are having difficulty in finding qualified applicants to fill vacancies. The same study showed that just over half – 51 percent – of all participating companies indicated that at least 16 percent of their current employees have a skills gap that affects productivity.

The availability of skilled labor has become an increasingly difficult problem for employers to manage. While we often reference manufacturing when discussing skills gaps, in reality this is a dilemma that impacts every industry sector and includes skilled-crafts, technical, secretarial and professional workers. Across industries, employers report increasing demand for skills in problem solving and critical thinking, communication, teamwork, entrepreneurship and business acumen.