As numerous reports have documented, most large companies are — as one would expect — spending more on technology each year. Does it follow, then, that their spending on technology training is on the same path?
Not according to Multiverse, a learning company that identifies and closes skills gaps through personalized, on-the-job learning. It has an obvious interest in the topic, which led it to analyze 700 annual reports of the 100 most highly capitalized blue chips listed on the London Stock Exchange (i.e., the FTSE 100).
The analysis was based on the hypothesis that if skills are critical to business strategy, you would expect them to play a prominent role in annual reports.
The hypothesis proved invalid, according to Multiverse. While 69% of U.K. companies and 76% of those in the U.S. mentioned “a strategic priority relating to technology” in their latest reports, only 7% and 8%, respectively, described skills and training as a strategic priority, the learning company said.
“This proportion has not improved since 2013, while technology has shot up in importance, suggesting that boardrooms are not yet recognizing its sweeping impact on workforce skills requirements,” Multiverse said.
Similarly, while 49% of the U.K. FTSE 100 companies and 48% of U.K. firms mentioned AI as part of their strategy, only 34% and 18%, respectively, referenced AI training. Compared to mentions of other major training categories — DEI training (97%), compliance training (97%) and health/safety training (89%) — the proportion of reports containing references to AI training “appears low for a technology that most companies are striving to adopt,” according to Multiverse.
Further, while 78% of the FTSE 100 companies mentioned a strategic skills review at the board level in their latest annual report, just 17% mentioned a broader review of workforce skills.
Multiverse’s study report cited findings from the U.K.’s Institute for Fiscal Studies, confirming that the average number of days of workforce training received each year has fallen over the last decade. And according to a study of 251 U.S. companies by Training magazine, U.S. training expenditures decreased 3.7% in 2024, falling to $98 billion.
Multiverse’s study estimates that a median of 0.16% of company revenue was typically spent on training. Nearly a third (30%) of FTSE companies shared how much training employees received, which averaged 23.8 hours per year.
“Technology tools are only as good as the people who use them,” said Multiverse CEO Euan Blair. “Without prioritizing people, companies will be left with tech strategies that are missing a key piece of the puzzle.”
Multiverse said its study used a large language model (GPT-4o), keyword-based methods, and a manual labeling process for verification. The analysis took 2013 as a baseline for comparison against the most recent 2023 or 2024 annual reports while also examining incremental changes since 2018.
