Small Business Glossary and Definitions

A Skills Gap refers to the difference between what skills applicants to a position have to offer and what skills an employer is looking for in a new hire. When skills gaps occur, they tend to be industry wide as a result of certain educational programs attracting less students or industry-wide resistance to education programs. Sometimes skills gaps are not on an industry level but are local to a company. This can occur when a company is not offering an attractive enough compensation package to interest individuals with the needed skills.