SINGAPORE: More than eight in 10 business leaders said their companies face a gap in sustainability skills and expertise, according to the NTUC LearningHub’s Sustainability for Business Resilience Report 2024, released on Thursday (Sept 19).
The report, based on surveys from over 150 business leaders and 350 full-time employees, found that while sustainability is a growing focus in businesses, the necessary skills are missing.
The Business Times reported that nearly 80 per cent of business leaders said they have communicated their company’s sustainability goals to employees, but one-third of workers said they were unsure if their organisation can effectively implement those initiatives.
Employees pointed to several reasons for their lack of confidence. While 41 per cent said their company’s sustainability goals were unclear, 34 per cent mentioned insufficient budgets, and 32 per cent cited a lack of relevant training.
NTUC LearningHub’s chief sector skills officer, Tay Ee Learn, noted a disconnect between business leaders and employees. He explained that the disconnect likely comes from a lack of shared understanding of sustainability goals.
“Transparent communication is key, but organisations must first develop a clear sustainability road map with defined goals to ensure everyone is aligned,” he said.
The report also found that business leaders and employees don’t always agree on why sustainability efforts are important.
Employees view cost savings (46 per cent), compliance with regulations (44 per cent), and market demand (36 per cent) as the key reasons for sustainability initiatives. Business leaders, on the other hand, rank market demand highest (54 per cent), followed by cost savings (49 per cent) and managing risks (43 per cent).
Another issue raised by the report is the lack of sustainability training. About 30 per cent of business leaders said they had sent employees for training in the past year. However, only 11 per cent of employees reported attending any sustainability training during the same period.
Also, nearly half the employees (46 per cent) did not know these programmes were available.
However, both groups agreed that the employees are too busy with their regular work to make time for sustainability training. Forty-three per cent of both business leaders and employees mentioned this as the main challenge.
Companies also face challenges in finding recognised training courses (39 per cent) and suitable external providers (32 per cent).
Employees also cited additional challenges, such as not having fully funded training programmes (29 per cent) and a lack of help in covering their workload while they go for training (28 per cent). They also expressed uncertainty about their skills gaps (28 per cent) and noted that there are limited in-house training programmes offered by their organisation (27 per cent).
To address these issues, Mr Tay highlighted that companies can use resources like NTUC’s Awareness, Resources, Community Framework to offer sustainability solutions and support employee training.
He noted that investing in staff development reassures employees that they are valued, helping both organisations and workers remain competitive in a rapidly changing environment. /TISG
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