Insights
Insights and conversations on skills, workforce development and professional learning.
University of the West of Scotland (UWS) works with employers, professionals and partners to better understand the skills, workforce and learning challenges shaping organisations.
Insights brings together workforce insight, research, events and professional perspectives from across our engagement activity. It provides a space to explore emerging themes, share evidence and continue conversations around skills, workforce development and professional learning.
Our insight activity is informed by engagement with employers, employees, industry and wider stakeholders. It is intended to contribute to discussion and understanding, providing perspectives on the experiences and priorities of those involved rather than a comprehensive picture of the wider labour market.
Skills at Work
Understanding the changing world of work
Skills at Work is UWS’s annual workforce insight activity, bringing together perspectives from employers, employees and industry to explore emerging skills challenges, workforce development priorities and the changing needs of organisations.
In 2026, the activity expanded beyond UWS's previous employer skills surveys to include an employee survey and industry roundtable, providing a broader range of perspectives on workforce skills and development.
The findings from this activity have been brought together in the Skills at Work 2026 report, providing directional insight into the experiences and priorities of those who took part.
The 2026 findings explore themes including:
- workforce skills gaps and future skills priorities
- the changing capabilities organisations are seeking
- barriers to learning and workforce development
- employer and employee perspectives on future readiness
- the relationship between learning, skills and career development
The findings are intended to stimulate discussion and reflection around how organisations can respond to changing workforce needs.
Request your copy of the Skills at Work 2026 report
Continuing the conversation
Publication of the Skills at Work 2026 report is part of a wider programme of engagement.
Working with employers, industry stakeholders and partners, UWS is using the findings to support wider discussion around workforce development, skills and professional learning.
In partnership with Skills Development Scotland, we have delivered a series of webinars exploring the findings and what they may mean in practice for organisations.
Our first Skills at Work 2026 webinar introduced the key findings from the report and explored some of the emerging themes around workforce skills gaps, future capability and organisational readiness.
Watch the Skills at Work 2026 webinar
The findings from Skills at Work 2026 have also informed a series of LinkedIn articles exploring some of the themes emerging from the activity in more depth.
These articles build on the report findings and wider conversations around workforce development, learning and skills, providing further perspectives on the issues shaping organisations and their people.
Explore the Skills at Work article series:
Understanding the Gap Between Organisational Intent and Workforce Experience