One in six people fear they will no longer be relevant in the future labor market

One in six people fear they will no longer be relevant in the future labor market

Amsterdam, 23 February 2021– No less than 17% percent of Dutch workers are afraid that they will no longer be relevant in the future labor market. This was revealed following a survey of 1,146 Dutch people who are employed. This research was conducted by Lepaya in collaboration with Panelwizard. While 92% of workers surveyed say they currently have all the necessary skills to perform their current job properly, 42% also fear these skills will no longer be relevant in 20 years.

Digitalization will continue developing and millions of jobs will disappear as a result. Many tasks that are now performed manually will become automated in the foreseeable future. Closing the gap between the skills employees now possess and those they will need in the future is a growing concern among workers. Millennials, in particular, are concerned about their future relevance: one fifth of those surveyed believe they lack the skills to avoid being replaced by automation before their retirement age. Among Dutch workers men appear to have this fear more so than women with 47% of male employees fearing their current skills will not be future proof compared to 36% of female employees.

Employees do not pay enough attention to personal growth

Despite the growing concern among Dutch workers, 37% of the respondents indicate that they pay insufficient attention not only to developing future-proof skills such as empathy, persuasiveness, but also the digital skills necessary to properly understand and control new technologies. The younger the employee, the less attention paid to personal growth and development: no less than 41% of millennials surveyed pay insufficient attention to developing skills that are necessary for their future career.

Life-long learning? Investing in the skills of Dutch workers is low on the employer’s agenda

The continuous development of employees has been a central focus of both the business community and the government for years. Investing in the future of the employee does not appear to be high on the agenda, however. Only 46% of employers provide their employees with insight into which skills are relevant to the future job market. A missed opportunity, according to the research as almost half of the employees surveyed indicate that they would like to receive more support in improving the right skills.

According to René Janssen, founder of Lepaya, provider of online and offline power skills training for fast-growing technology companies, the responsibility lies with the employer: “The need to stimulate lifelong learning is constantly growing. A large group of employees will fall by the wayside if companies do not take action. While many executives agree that the skills gap is their biggest challenge, few companies put their money where their mouth is. It is up to them to provide insight into which skills within their company will never automated and which training is needed to remain relevant in the digital age ”.

For more information, contact:

René Janssen | Founder & Managing Director of Lepaya
rene@lepaya.com | +31 (0)6 306 42 695

About Lepaya

Lepaya provides power skills training that combines online and offline learning. Founded in 2018 by René Janssen and Peter Kuperus who believe that the right training, at the right time aimed at the right skill, makes organizations more productive. Lepaya has already trained thousands of employees.

As a challenger in an overcrowded training market, Lepaya responds to the needs of Europe’s fastest-growing tech companies, such as Mollie, Takeaway, and Picnic. By combining hard skills with soft skills, offered together as power skills, the Amsterdam company is growing faster in a market in which the demand for further education and training continues to increase throughout the world.

In 2020, Lepaya closed a €5M funding round and independently acquired Smartenup, a training company that supports professionals to work better, faster, and smarter with data. Lepaya focuses on the Dutch, Belgian, German, and Swedish markets and serves its customers worldwide.

More information about Lepaya: www.lepaya.com