In recent years, the struggle to progress toward both financial mobility and career advancement has heightened for most American workers.
Workers are facing crushing student loan debt, shifts in labor needs and valued skills due to rapid technology advancements, and wages that are failing to keep up with the climbing cost of living. It’s perhaps not surprising, therefore, that only 53% of workers believe that the American dream is still possible.
As workers are struggling to advance in their careers, companies are struggling with low retention rates, critical skill gaps, and labor shortages. While employee upskilling has become essential for businesses to grow and thrive, it’s clear that employees face mounting challenges that prevent them from seeking the continued education that they actively want.
To help HR executives better understand worker interest and barriers preventing them from upskilling, EdAssist partnered with The Harris Poll to create our 2024 Education Index Report. We surveyed over 2,000 U.S. employees, ages 18 and older, to learn about worker interest in continued education and the most significant obstacles standing in their way.
Let’s dive into our top takeaways from this research.
1. Student loan debt is prohibitive to continued education
Student loan debt is a significant burden for many Americans, and it’s actively preventing many ambitious workers from considering new degrees, training, and upskilling.
The high cost of this debt is such a significant concern that 36% said that student loan repayment policies would factor into their voting decisions in the 2024 election. Many workers shared that student loans were already negatively impacting their lives:
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55% of workers said student loan debt has negatively impacted their financial situation, with 20% noting that it had a “very negative” impact.
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43% said that student loan debt negatively impacted their mental health.
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41% said that it impacted their future plans.
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29% said student loan debt has even negatively impacted their sleep.
The burden of student loan debt is so high that it directly impacts employees’ ability to upskill or pursue continued education— even when they want to. Our Education Index found that 40% of workers said they couldn’t advance their careers because they couldn’t afford to take on the student loan debt required for additional education. Fifty-three percent (53%) said knowing they’d take on further student loan debt would prevent them from pursuing continued education.
While student loans are crippling to workers’ financial and mental well-being and prevent them from upskilling, employers can help. Employer-sponsored student loan assistance programs can help employees pay off existing debt, contribute to their retirement through student loan repayment match programs, and even prevent debt entirely through tuition assistance.
2. Despite barriers, employees want additional education and upskilling opportunities
Many employees feel they need to upskill to stay competitive in the workplace or allow them to move up in their careers. Others want to improve their job security or their earning potential. Regardless of the reason, it’s clear that today’s workers are interested in further education.
The majority of employees we surveyed were interested in pursuing additional education and upskilling, with 74% of workers of all ages— and 99% of GenZ employees— saying they were interested in pursuing additional education or developing new skills.
When asked if they’d be motivated to pursue education if provided with essential resources— including financial assistance, time, and access to information about available opportunities—, an overwhelming 83% said yes.
Employees’ eagerness to learn is excellent news for organizations looking to upskill their workforce to meet evolving talent and skill set demands. Workers are on board; they just need the resources to make their education goals a reality.
Employers who offer comprehensive employee education benefits for continued education, therefore, will likely find an enthusiastic workforce that wants to learn in-demand skills. Support should include tuition assistance or student loan repayment options to eliminate the most significant barrier preventing employees from pursuing education, but it also may require providing additional guidance and flexible learning options to address other potential obstacles employees are facing.
Upskilling has become so important to workers that education assistance programs are now essential to be considered an employer of choice. In fact, 84% of workers said they’d be more loyal to a company that invested in their education, and 82% would even choose a job at a company offering education benefits over a competitor that did not. Organizations looking to attract and retain top talent must consider the importance of these programs when designing their benefits programs and policies.
3. Employees want guidance
Workers want to ensure that their investments in upskilling pay off, and that means they want guidance from their employer or direct supervisors regarding what training programs, certificates, and degrees will best advance their careers.
Choosing upskilling programs— whether it’s a single training course or a four-year degree program— is often overwhelming to workers who want to upskill for career advancement opportunities within their current organization.
While most employees want to develop new skills, 58% feel like they’re at a loss of where to get started. Many are unsure of what skills or training their employer values, or which degrees would help them reach their professional goals.
Sixty-seven percent (67%) of GenZ employees wished their employer would provide guidance on how to best accomplish their education goals.
Even though 89% of workers said it’s their own responsibility to pursue new skills, 52% believe it’s their employer’s responsibility to inform or guide them on how to pursue skill development.
Despite this, only 28% of workers have discussed how to learn new and relevant skills with their manager in the past year, and only 17% have discussed how to take advantage of company-provided education benefits in the past year.
To provide meaningful guidance, HR leaders can provide support, ensuring that employees are familiar with available education assistance benefits, and managers can receive training on facilitating discussions about employee upskilling. You can also provide one-on-one coaching sessions or develop career pathways to provide clear steps and programs that can help your employees accomplish specific upskilling and career goals.
4. Managers don’t know how to provide guidance
Though employers want more guidance, and leaders often want to support direct reports in their upskilling initiatives, many managers don’t have the skills, resources, or time to do so.
Managers may want to support their direct reports as much as possible, and that includes providing essential information about continued education to interested employees.
However, 42% of managers said they don’t feel they have the resources needed to support their team in learning new skills or continuing their education. When asked what could help them have more productive conversations about additional education opportunities, managers shared that they’d like:
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A clear understanding of the skill development and education that employees want to pursue.
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Knowledge of the roles that the company would like to prioritize.
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Additional resources to refer direct reports to.
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More time during the workday to have discussions about continued education with direct reports.
Management training can help facilitate these conversations, along with resources like educational materials about upskilling opportunities, recommended career paths, and the option to refer employees directly to expert career coaches.
5. Workers want AI training, but aren’t getting it
Artificial intelligence (AI) has taken the world by storm, but employees and employers alike are struggling to leverage its massive potential, even though both workers and organizations are often interested in increasing efficiency with AI technology.
In fact, 34% of workers said they’d never used AI in their day-to-day work processes, even though 77% who have used it said it makes their job much easier. Workers in many different departments can use AI to analyze trends across large datasets, streamline complex processes, and automate repetitive tasks.
Employees recognize the need to keep up, as 26% of respondents felt pressure to learn new skills due to AI advancements, and 32% reported that their employer expected them to learn how to use AI on their own.
This low adoption rate may be partly due to training, as 65% of respondents said that their employers hadn’t given them any training on how to use AI in their work, despite 42% wanting training.
Organizations looking to harness AI to its fullest potential must prioritize upskilling workers on AI to maximize adoption and identify new use cases.
While some workers fear that AI might threaten their job security, many recognize that it can simplify their tasks. These skills can be valuable assets that improve employee productivity and performance, but not if your team doesn’t know how to leverage new technology to the fullest. Consider providing training on how to use AI for specific job roles or offer third-party training to interested employees.
6. Stackable, skills-based learning is on the rise
As education costs have reached an all-time high, and with many workers burdened by student loans already, workers are increasingly considering nontraditional learning paths.
Our Education Index found that 72% of workers said they’d prefer a short-term learning approach— such as a bootcamp, certificate program, or taking a single course— compared to a formal degree program. 53% said they preferred this approach due to the flexibility it offers, and 59% shared they valued the minimal time constraints.
Skills-based learning approaches are often time and cost-effective for organizations and employees alike. Companies can leverage these nimbler upskilling opportunities to create targeted learning approaches that help address the rapidly changing industry needs. Facilitating skill-based learning may increase overall employee participation, resulting in the development of critical employee skills and potentially helping to close daunting skill gaps.
Final Thoughts
EdAssist’s 2024 Education Index underscores a critical need for change. While student loan debt remains a formidable barrier, the workforce’s hunger for education and upskilling is undeniable. Yet, many managers are unprepared to provide the necessary guidance, and a significant gap in AI training persists. The rise of stackable, skills-based learning offers a promising and flexible solution to these challenges.
Employers have a pivotal role to play. By strategically enhancing their education assistance programs, they can transform these initiatives into powerful tools for workforce development. Investing in employee growth not only elevates individual skills but also strengthens the organization. Addressing these key areas is essential for cultivating a more educated, skilled, and adaptable workforce, ready to meet the demands of the future.
For more findings from this report, download the full 2024 Education Index.
