The survey of 500 UK tech executives, IT professionals and business professionals found that while the majority (94%) of respondents see their organisation as prioritising a culture of tech and data learning in 2025, half (50%) of UK workers struggle to find time for training and almost all (93%) require more support.

Commenting on these findings, Matt Lloyd Davies, Cybersecurity Researcher and Principal Author, Pluralsight said: “While nearly all executives acknowledge the strategic importance of a learning culture around technology, the fact that 95% of professionals still feel under-resourced reveals a clear gap between leadership intent and day-to-day enablement. Closing this gap requires leaders to move from aspirational statements about culture to measurable action, embedding continuous learning into performance reviews, workforce planning, and leadership accountability.”

Upskilling is on the radar, but delivery falls short

UK leaders recognise the urgency of closing the IT skills gap. 100% of organisations surveyed reported having a strategy in place to build a learning culture, and more than half (56%) said their leadership is aware of the scale of the challenge. Yet time remains the single biggest barrier to upskilling, cited for the fourth consecutive year.

As a result, 48% of projects were abandoned partway in 2025 due to a lack of skills, and 99% of respondents agreed that skills shortages have a noticeable impact on team success.

Drew Firment, AWS Community Hero and VP of Global Partnerships, Pluralsight suggests “If finding time is the number one learning barrier again and again, the issue isn’t calendars, it’s culture. A learning organisation doesn’t make time; it builds time into their business model. How that happens will differ for every business – it could be through protected learning hours, bite-sized formats or structured development pathways – but it must be a priority.”

Upskilling saves time and money

The research also highlights a strong business case for upskilling. UK organisations estimate hiring a new employee costs £9,769, while upskilling existing staff costs £6,056 – meaning recruitment is 1.6 times more expensive. Nearly half (42%) also agreed that hiring talent takes longer than developing internal talent.

On the employee side, skill development is now a top driver of advancement, with 41% of professionals linking it to promotions and 47% to pay rises.

Top skills for 2025: Cloud, cyber, and AI 

The report also shows clear alignment between the skills in highest demand, and where the biggest gaps exist. Cybersecurity was ranked as the most important skill for professionals to learn next year (39%), while cloud was cited as the single biggest driver of business growth (42%). Yet both cybersecurity and cloud are also the areas with the largest skills gaps with 34% and 29% ranking them as such respectively.

At the same, AI and Machine Learning have also surged in priority, jumping into the top three for the first time as generative AI reshapes demand.

Chris Jackson, Senior Author, Cloud, Pluralsight says: “The sudden rise of AI/ML from a low-urgency skill to a top three priority highlights the rapid evolution of technology, driven largely by the proliferation of generative AI. This shift has solidified the cloud's role as the vital platform for AI adoption. The most valuable skill set in the coming years will be at this intersection: understanding how to build, deploy, and secure AI systems within cloud environments.”

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