The Royal Foundation Business Survey 2025

Key findings:

• Skills needed for the future: 81% of business leaders taking part in the survey believe there will be an increased need for ‘human skills’ in the next 5-10 years. When asked to rank the top 5 skills which are essential for their future success, 62% chose communication and influence as one of their top 5. Digital and technological skills (59%) ranked second overall, while other ‘human skills’ such as complex problem solving and critical thinking (59%) and adaptability and resilience (56%) were also ranked highly.
• Existing skill gap: The survey results suggest there is a current human skills gap, with 45% of business leaders responding sharing that they find it difficult to find employees with strong ‘human skills’.
• Closing the gap: Business leaders taking part in the survey suggested it was easiest to develop ‘human skills’ in  adulthood (33%) and adolescence (31%).

Technical note:

• Ipsos interviewed 180 business leaders in the UK through the Alligator panel (part of i-Say) from 21-31 October 2025.
• The survey was designed to create a snapshot of business perspectives. The sample included businesses from a wide range of sectors and sizes across the UK, but was not designed to be representative of business leaders or businesses in the UK.
• The sample includes businesses in England (93%), Wales (3%), Scotland (3%), and Northern Ireland (1%).
• Respondents included C-suite executives, Managing Directors, General Managers, and other senior decision-makers across businesses of varying sizes and sectors.
• Businesses with less than 10 employees were excluded.
• The survey data has not been weighted.