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Newresearch from Chegg, a global learning and workforce skilling company, reveals a significant skills gap that is placing pressure on employers and employees in frontline-heavy industries across the US. The consequences are already being felt: three in ten employers (30%) say they spend more than eight hours every week compensating for workforce skills gaps.

Chegg’s Frontline Workers Skills Index, based on a survey of 1,000 US employers and 1,005 US employees across ten frontline-heavy industries, including retail, manufacturing, and finance, uncovers a widening perception gap between employers and employees on skills gaps, AI adoption, and training effectiveness, suggesting that traditional approaches are no longer enough. By employers, the survey refers to respondents who are fully or partly involved in hiring decisions at their organization; employees refer to those with no responsibility for hiring.

“The most important finding in this research is that employers and employees are often looking at the same workforce challenges but diagnosing completely different problems,” said Dan Rosensweig, Chief Executive Officer of Chegg. “Employers are focused on AI readiness, adaptability, and operational performance, while employees are focused on career mobility, leadership, and advancement. Neither side is wrong – but most training programs were never designed to bridge that gap.”

“What workers are telling us very clearly is that generic training without practical application or measurable career impact no longer works. At a time when AI is rapidly reshaping the workplace, organizations need training that helps employees perform better in the roles they have today, while building the capabilities needed for tomorrow. That is exactly the problem Chegg Skills was built to solve.”

Business costs of skills gaps

The research shows that workforce skills shortages are already creating significant operational and human costs across industries. Nearly one-third of employers (30%) say they spend more than eight hours per week, the equivalent of a full working day, compensating for workforce skills gaps. In manufacturing, that figure rises to 46%.

The consequences are being felt across day-to-day operations. Employers identified increased mistakes and rework (34%), increased stress and burnout (33%), heavier workloads or covering for others (31%), and overtime or longer shifts (29%) as some of the most common impacts of skills shortages at their organization.

The strain is also affecting morale and retention. Nearly half of employers (45%) and more than one-third of employees (35%) say they have considered quitting due to stress caused by understaffing or workforce capability gaps. In food service and hospitality, 57% of employers and 43% of employees reported they had considered leaving their role, the highest among all sectors surveyed.

Training programs failing workers. The workforce skills shortages begin before employees even enter the workplace. More than half of employers (56%) say entry-level workers are not adequately prepared for work, while more than one-quarter (26%) describe the skills gap in their sector as either "serious" or at "crisis level."

Once employees enter the workforce, the picture does not improve. While employers overwhelmingly believe workforce training programs are working, employees are less convinced, pointing to a deeper problem in how training is designed and delivered.

More than three-quarters of employers (77%) say training programs are effective overall, compared to 58% of employees. However, most employees (71%) say that training has led to no change in their pay or role. The findings suggest the issue is not a lack of investment or motivation, but a lack of relevance and practical impact. From those who say it was not effective, 51% of employees say their training is too general or not connected closely enough to their day-to-day responsibilities. Employees also cite not enough hands-on practical learning (39%), insufficient coaching (34%), and weak managerial support (27%) as barriers to successful training outcomes.

The research reveals a growing perception gap between employers and employees about which skills are most urgently needed in today’s workplace.

While both groups agree that workforce capability gaps exist, they differ significantly on where the problem lies. Employers identified AI and automation skills (36%) and digital or IT capabilities (24%) as the most lacking in their workforce, reflecting the growing pressure to adapt to rapidly changing technologies.

Employees, however, pointed to leadership and people management (25%) as the biggest deficiency in their workplace, followed by communication and teamwork skills (24%). The findings suggest many workers see the challenge not only as a technical skills issue but also as a management and workplace culture issue.

At the same time, employers ranked problem-solving and critical thinking (36%) and communication and teamwork (34%) as the two most important skills for long-term success – highlighting demand for both durable human skills and technical fluency.

AI is accelerating faster than workers are adapting

The report also reveals a disconnect between how quickly employers are embracing AI and how slowly employees are adapting to it in their day-to-day work.