Two out of every five employees work for employers that have no option for professional development or learning, new research has found.
The study, by the UCD Professional Academy, also found that almost a third of respondents who hadn't previously taken part in upskilling could not afford to take a course, up 3% since last year.
The academy says this highlights the growing affordability challenges posed by broader economic issues.
The survey, carried out as part of the organisation’s third annual report, found interest in upskilling remains high with more than 2 million adults estimated to be interested in taking a course.
44% of those surveyed are possibly considering taking a professional development class in the next year and a further 22% would be interested if the right course was available to them.
Nearly one in every four respondents who had previously taken a course said they feel a lack of Government or public funding may stop them getting involved in further upskilling in the future.
Most participants say their courses are self-funded, although there has been a slight rise in the amount of employers who pay for staff to upskill.
Time constraints are the second biggest barrier to upskilling, the research also found, behind only cost.
More than half of respondents said they would prefer a part-time approach, with just a single class each week over a period of 10-12 weeks.
A third though would opt for prefer a full day course over four to six weeks.
Hybrid learning was the most popular option, chosen by a third of the 1,000 adults surveyed.
