Training Needs Analysis: How to Identify Skills Gaps in Your Organisation
August 2, 2026 · Human Resources · 5 min read
Training needs analysis (TNA) is the process of identifying the gap between the capability people currently have and the capability the organisation needs, then deciding whether training is actually the right response.
A strong analysis starts with performance and business needs. It does not begin with a course catalogue.
Why training needs analysis matters in 2026
The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 surveyed more than 1,000 employers representing over 14 million workers across 55 economies. In that survey, 63% of employers identified skills gaps as a major barrier to business transformation over the 2025–2030 period.
Employers also expected 39% of workers’ core skills to change by 2030. If the global workforce were represented by 100 people, employers expected 59 to need training by 2030, while 85% of surveyed employers planned to prioritise workforce upskilling.
Source: World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Report 2025
These are global employer-survey expectations, not a prediction that every organisation will face the same percentage of skill disruption.
Training needs analysis and learning needs analysis are not exactly the same
CIPD distinguishes a one-off training needs analysis from a broader learning needs analysis (LNA). An LNA is an ongoing review of current and future organisational capability needs, while a TNA can be a more focused assessment linked to a specific training activity.
Source: CIPD, Learning needs analysis, 2025
In practice, organisations often use the terms interchangeably. The important point is to connect any proposed learning intervention to a clearly defined performance or capability gap.
Start with the performance problem
Before asking “What training do people need?”, ask:
- What result or behaviour is not where it needs to be?
- What standard are we comparing against?
- Who is affected?
- What evidence shows the gap exists?
- What is causing the gap?
This matters because not every performance problem is a training problem.
When training is not the answer
Training is unlikely to solve a problem caused primarily by:
- unclear expectations;
- poor process design;
- inadequate tools or systems;
- conflicting priorities;
- insufficient staffing;
- lack of decision authority;
- misaligned incentives;
- work that has not been designed realistically.
In these situations, training may still support implementation, but the root cause has to be addressed elsewhere.
Three useful levels of analysis
1. Organisational level
Identify the capabilities the organisation needs to execute its strategy and respond to changes in its environment.
Useful inputs include:
- business strategy;
- workforce plans;
- customer or service data;
- quality and error data;
- technology changes;
- regulatory requirements;
- turnover or succession risk;
- future role requirements.
2. Team or role level
Define what people in a role need to know and be able to do.
Useful inputs include:
- job descriptions;
- task analysis;
- competency frameworks;
- performance standards;
- examples of effective work;
- manager and subject-matter expert input.
3. Individual level
Assess whether a specific employee has a gap against the requirements of the role.
Useful evidence can include:
- observation;
- work samples;
- performance discussions;
- skills assessments;
- 360-degree feedback;
- manager assessment;
- employee self-assessment.
No one method is sufficient by itself. Self-assessment can be useful for identifying confidence and perceived needs, but it should be combined with more objective evidence where possible.
Prioritise gaps by business impact
A long list of skill gaps is not a strategy. Rank needs according to factors such as:
- risk if the gap remains;
- number of people affected;
- importance of the capability to business goals;
- urgency;
- difficulty of recruiting the capability externally;
- whether the gap can realistically be developed.
This helps prevent learning budgets from being spread across low-impact requests simply because they are popular.
Choose the intervention after the need is clear
CIPD’s learning-needs guidance explicitly warns against defaulting automatically to a course. Depending on the problem, the best response might be:
- formal training;
- coaching;
- practice and feedback;
- job aids;
- mentoring;
- process redesign;
- manager support;
- stretch assignments;
- changes to tools or role design.
The learning solution should follow the diagnosis rather than drive it.
Training needs analysis improves programme design
CIPD’s leadership-development evidence review reports that training programmes based on a careful needs analysis tend to be more effective than generic, untailored programmes. The review also notes that analysis can improve learner motivation and learning transfer when development goals are clear and specific.
Source: CIPD, Leadership development: scientific evidence review
Use evidence from several sources
A practical TNA can combine:
| Method | What it can reveal | Limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Performance data | Where outcomes are below target | Does not automatically explain why |
| Observation | Actual behaviour and task execution | Time-intensive |
| Interviews | Context, barriers and manager insight | Can reflect personal bias |
| Surveys | Patterns across larger populations | Depends heavily on question quality |
| Skills assessments | Specific capability against a standard | Requires a valid assessment |
| Customer or stakeholder feedback | External view of performance | May not identify root cause |
What a useful TNA report should contain
A practical report does not need to be long. It should make the decision clear.
Include:
- the business or performance problem;
- evidence used;
- capability required;
- current capability gap;
- likely root causes;
- people or roles affected;
- priority level;
- recommended intervention;
- how improvement will be measured.
Avoid unsupported ROI forecasts
It is useful to estimate the expected value of closing a capability gap, but a TNA should not invent a guaranteed training ROI before the intervention has been designed and evaluated.
Where financial impact matters, define the business measure first, such as error cost, time lost, conversion rate, rework, customer complaints or vacancy risk. Then track whether the relevant measure changes after the intervention, while recognising that other factors may also affect the outcome.
Training needs analysis in GCC and African organisations
Regional labels should not replace organisation-specific evidence.
A GCC employer may face nationalisation, digital transformation or sector-regulation priorities, while an African organisation may face very different labour-market, infrastructure or delivery constraints. Even within the same country, two employers can have completely different capability needs.
Use country- and sector-specific evidence where relevant, but let the organisation’s own strategy, workforce data and role requirements determine the final training priorities.
A practical seven-step process
- Define the performance problem.
- Identify the capability required.
- Collect evidence on current capability.
- Identify the root causes of the gap.
- Prioritise needs by risk and business impact.
- Select the most appropriate intervention.
- Define how improvement will be measured.
Related MATSH resources
For the broader connection between learning and work performance, see Why Most Workplace Learning Efforts Fall Short.
Bottom line
Training needs analysis is valuable because it stops organisations from treating training as the answer before the problem has been understood. Start with the performance need, gather evidence, separate skill gaps from system problems, and choose the intervention only after the diagnosis is clear.
Sources
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