DisaZter? Over a Third of Gen Z Workers Lack Tech and Soft Skills
Understanding Gen Z’s Skills Gap: Although raised in a digital era, Gen Z’s tech skills don’t fully align with workplace demands. At least 35% of PMs say Gen Z lacks advanced tech skills and struggles with core soft skills like communication.
Causes of The Skills Gap: The pandemic likely impacted Gen Z's education and early careers, with remote learning limiting soft skill development and traditional job support.
Closing the Gap: Lack of engagement can lead to underperformance. Managers should listen to Gen Z’s feedback, offer constructive support, and create an inclusive environment that fosters development in both hard and soft skills.
Mentorship Matters: Gen Z wants to learn and grow but needs clear upskilling pathways and mentorship. Companies can bridge the skills gap by offering accessible training, job shadowing, and targeted development programs.
Lazy. Unmotivated. Difficult.
These are just a few of the adjectives that are often used to describe Gen Z—or those born between 1997 and 2009. As this youngest generation enters the working world (by 2025, they will make up approximately 27% of the workforce), it can be easy to believe what you’ve heard.
As a Millennial myself, it’s tempting to pile on the criticism of Gen Z—the way every older generation does when a new group of young people enters the workforce. I could rattle off stats about them, like how 74% of managers believe that Gen Z is more difficult to work with than previous generations. I could even share anecdotes about the Gen Z intern I once had that barely showed up to work.
But the truth is, I don’t really want to pile on. I can still remember the deluge of insults thrown at my generation less than a decade ago. We, too, were once called lazy and entitled. Now, we’re sought after in the workplace.
In fact, 1 in 3 managers who find Gen Z difficult prefer to hire and work with Millennials. The reason? Managers find Gen Zers tend to lack technological skills (39%), effort (37%), and motivation (37%). Meanwhile, they believe that Millennials are the most productive (44%) and have the best technological skills out of any generation (42%).
All this to say: Gen Z is the future of our workforce. They will step up to the plate, the same way every generation has before them. But that doesn’t mean they won’t face hurdles along the way.
One of those hurdles is clear from the data above—technological skills seem to be a sticking point for this generation and a sore spot for their employers. But what is behind this skills gap? What are the skills that Gen Z seem to be lacking? And what needs to be done to help move this generation forward?
Is Gen Z Behind In Digital Skills?
Gen Z is the first generation to have grown up with the internet from day one—they’re truly our first generation of “digital natives.” But that personal experience hasn’t necessarily translated into workplace skills the way this generation, and their employers, had hoped. In fact, less than half (48%) of employers in a recent survey feel that Gen Z has the advanced digital skills they need upon leaving college.
According to a recent Salesforce survey, Gen Z employees actually agree. Only 32% of this age group says they feel equipped with the technological skills they need to succeed in the current and future workforce. That number drops even more when we look at specific skills and industries.
For skills like coding, only 20% of Gen Z respondents feel confident. And while they believe in the significance of AI for the future of work (73% of respondents said that AI skills are important), only 17% of them feel like they have those skills.
We wanted to dig a little bit deeper to find out if project managers specifically feel the same way about the skills of their Gen Z colleagues. We surveyed 50 members of The Digital Project Manager community to learn more—the majority of respondents self-identified as Millennials or Gen Xers.
In terms of advanced workplace tech skills (like using project management software and other tools), our respondents were pretty torn. Thirty-five percent feel their Gen Z colleagues are in fact unskilled or very unskilled, while another 35% said they were skilled or very skilled. The other 30% were neutral about it, feeling Gen Zers were neither skilled nor unskilled.
Our respondents were more positive when it comes to basic workplace tech skills (like managing Microsoft or Google suite tools, handling printing/copying, etc). Fifty-seven percent of respondents believe that Gen Zers are skilled or very skilled in this area, with only 23% feeling they were unskilled.
What About Soft Skills?
When it comes to soft skills, however, that’s where our data starts to show some real cause for concern. Forty-three percent of our respondents shared that they feel their Gen Z colleagues are unskilled or very unskilled regarding soft skills (like communication, public speaking, and presentation).
This seems to be a common sentiment. In a different survey, employers highlighted communication skills (37%), resilience (28%) and problem solving (27%) as the soft skills Gen Z were lacking the most. Again, there's a disconnect here. Gen Z grew up with some of the most powerful communication devices in the palms of their hands. How is communication possibly a skill they need to work on?
Well, when employers are talking about communication, they typically mean traditional, in-office communication. Yes, Gen Z may be great with digital communication (email and messaging), but in terms of interpersonal skills, employers feel they’re lacking. Gen Z feels it too—65% of them said they struggle to make conversation with colleagues, which can lead to misunderstandings and poor collaboration.
As one of our survey respondents put it: “We had a tough time with Gen Zers in the period immediately following the pandemic. Lots of skill gaps related to independence, time management, communication, professional norms, etc. Once we had limited return to office (no more than once per week) that helped a lot with getting back to a cohesive team unit and clarifying expectations, to the point that it is now easy to return to almost 100% remote work.”
Reasons For The Gen Z Skills Gap
Now, before we all hop on the “Gen Z is the worst, and it’s all their fault” train, let’s take a minute to really think about why this skills gap has emerged.
One respondent to our survey summarizes it well: “Most Gen Z who are currently in the workforce have had to navigate COVID lockdowns during their pivotal early career years. If there are any gaps in their technical or soft skills, it is understandable, and older generations should work with them to address gaps and adapt to the changing landscape of work.”
While there are many factors at play here, we certainly can’t ignore the significant impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on this generation. According to Gartner, 46% of Gen Z employees say the pandemic hindered their educational or career goals. Many of them spent several semesters of college in lockdown, with limited face-time with professors and peers. Others began their careers in remote jobs, unable to access the support and learning opportunities often available to entry level employees. In one survey, 27% of Gen Z respondents said they had received no support in the workplace for developing soft skills.
Of course, all of this has had an impact on their opportunities for skill-building. And, of course, this needs to change.
Impacts of This Skills Gap
Before we dive into what organizations can do to help their Gen Z employees build up their tech and soft skills, let’s first talk about what’s at stake if they don’t.
First and foremost, if this skills gap isn’t addressed, Gen Zers will be the first to suffer. They’re already facing difficulties in securing jobs, staying employed, and advancing in their roles. One survey found that 36% of hiring managers are reluctant to hire Gen Z candidates, with 77% of them citing concerns about lack of experience. If they are able to land a role, that’s no guarantee—65% of respondents to one survey said they more commonly need to fire Gen Zers than employees of other generations, and 12% had fired a Gen Z employee less than one week after their start date.
And if they are able to hang onto their jobs, advancement opportunities are limited. Seventy percent of Gen Zers say they expect to get promoted at work within the first 18 months of employment. But without opportunities for skill development, these aspirations don’t mean much, and the retention of Gen Z talent becomes a concern.
That’s where this skills gap begins to have implications for employers and the greater economy as a whole. In one survey, 76% of businesses agreed that Gen Z’s lack of digital skills could affect the profitability of their business. This gap is likely to lead to decreased productivity, innovation, and employee engagement.
Closing The Skills Gap
In some ways, Gen Z employees are responsible for closing this skills gap. They need to work on building strong relationships with their coworkers and managers. They need to be open to feedback and guidance from those colleagues. And they need to be adaptable to new challenges that will arise as they work towards building these skills.
But the responsibility goes beyond Gen Z. Organizations need to be willing to put their biases aside, learn how to work with their Gen Z employees, and provide them with the opportunities to build the skills they (and businesses) need to succeed. Here’s how.
1. Address Disengagement
When a Gen Z employee isn’t being as productive as you’d like or is turning in sub-par work, it can be easy to just assume generational laziness. But let’s challenge that. What if it’s actually a lack of engagement?
According to one survey, only 31% of Gen Zers feel they’re engaged at work. This lack of engagement can stem from a number of things—burnout, stress, or lack of support, to name a few. And when employees aren’t engaged, productivity and results suffer.
This may seem like an oversimplified solution, but to combat disengagement, you need to listen to your Gen Z employees. Some of the biggest criticism of Gen Z is that they’re too outspoken, or that they challenge the status quo too much. Instead of rolling your eyes at what your Gen Z employees have to say, lean in. Ask for their honest feedback about what they need, what’s missing, and how you can help them feel more invested at work.
2. Provide Upskilling Opportunities
Think your Gen Z employees would be too lazy to take advantage of upskilling opportunities? Think again. One survey found that 70% of Gen Z respondents want their employers to invest in their digital skills.
Another one of our survey respondents shared this: “This crop, and really anyone, can learn rapidly when given the chance and training. But I've also found that few companies want to invest those resources. To me, that's not a problem with Gen Z. … As we've prized efficiency in our modern workplaces, we've sacrificed taking time to maximize individual strengths and use our managerial creativity to put folks into positions where they can do their best work.”
So, what does providing these upskilling opportunities look like? It can be as simple as providing employees with free memberships to LinkedIn learning, Coursera, or similar programs. It can be organizing a lunch-and-learn program where colleagues from different departments share the skills that help them be more productive at work. Or, it can be creating targeted learning programs focused on the tools your organization uses most.
But there’s an important caveat here. You also need to give your Gen Z employees the time and space to pursue these skill-building activities at work, during work hours. According to Deloitte, only 49% of Gen Zers say that work is central to their identity. And while they do value their professional development, they value work-life balance more than any generation before them.
3. Foster connections
Job shadowing and mentorship can go a long way in helping early career employees learn new skills and find their footing in the workplace. By observing and learning from others, Gen Z workers can gain insight into the skills they may need to be successful in similar roles.
If your company doesn’t already have a job shadowing or mentorship program in place, consider making the case for one to your HR department or leadership team. Or, if establishing a formal program isn’t in the cards, consider offering up your time to mentor a younger employee.
Your first instinct may be to think “Well, if they want my help they can come to me.” But, remember what it was like when you first started working? Did you find it easy to approach more senior colleagues and ask for their time? Just because they might not be asking for it, doesn’t mean they don’t want or need your help.
Moving Forward Together
One of our survey respondents sums things up nicely with this comment: “I think people are attributing lack of experience to a generational issue. When I was the younger generation in the workplace, I also lacked these skills. No one comes with all of them ready, it takes some time and it takes patience from older generations to teach.”
While factors like COVID, remote work, and virtual schooling have undeniably shaped this generation, they’re still just entry-level employees. As organizations and individuals, it’s time to move beyond generational biases and offer them the same support we all received when starting out—the guidance they need and want to succeed and grow in their careers.
