The digital skills challenge continues to bite, according to the latest research from Autodesk.
The 2025 State of Design & Make report from Autodesk surveyed 5,594 industry leaders, futurists, and experts from across the sectors served by the software giant. Nearly 2,000 of the respondents were from architecture, engineering, construction and operations.
Autodesk described the struggle to find skilled talent as “acute enough to hinder growth”: 58% of business leaders said that lack of access to skilled talent is a barrier to their company’s growth (up from 43% in last year’s survey).
The skilled talent gap increased in nearly every country surveyed – in some cases, quite significantly. In Germany, for example, the number of organisations saying skilled talent is difficult to find increased from 28% to 61%. In the Nordics, this number jumped from 18% to 51%.
When bridging and filling the skills gap, digitally mature companies are at a distinct advantage, according to Autodesk: 77% of digitally mature companies will invest more in digital training, compared to 59% of less digitally mature companies. They are also more likely to implement continuous learning programmes than less digitally mature companies, at 74% and 55%, respectively.
Autodesk defines digitally mature companies as those that are approaching or have achieved the goal of their digital transformation journey. Less digitally mature companies are those that are in the early stages or the middle of their digital transformation journey.
Digitally mature companies also see a boost when it comes to talent. More than a quarter (27%) of digitally mature companies reported improved talent acquisition and retention as a benefit of digital transformation, compared with only 18% of less digitally mature companies.
AI skills are top priority
Nearly half of the respondents (46%) said the ability to work with AI will be their top priority when hiring in the next few years, up from 41% in last year’s survey. Digital design skills came in second. Knowledge of data safety and security increased in importance.
Utilities see the most need for AI skills: 58% of leaders in this sector said they are a priority.
Marek Suchocki, head of industry associations strategy at Autodesk, said: “By investing in upskilling the workforce with specialised AI training and building trust in these tools, UK businesses can equip their workforce with the skills needed to thrive. This approach will empower them to revolutionise the way they design and make, boost creativity and achieve sustainable growth.”
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