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Cost of Skills Shortage Calculator

Put an annual dollar figure on the roles you cannot fill or cannot fully staff with the right skills.

Your numbers

Annual cost of the gap
 
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What is the cost of a skills shortage?

It is the value you lose while roles sit unfilled or staffed by people who are not yet fully capable. That shows up as lost output, slower delivery, and pressure on the people covering the gap.

Where Compono fits

The annual figure tells you the gap is expensive. Closing it needs two things working together: knowing exactly where capability is short, and building it back. Compono Assure measures and verifies capability across roles, while Compono Develop builds the missing skills, so the gap gets smaller rather than just better understood. Compono's competency approach already powers licensing across 5 Australian states, with more than 3 million certifications awarded.

See how it works

How it's calculated

Annual cost = number of unfilled or under-skilled roles, multiplied by the output gap per role (average revenue or output per role, adjusted for time to productivity), multiplied by the time those roles stay exposed. We can break the figure down by role or team so you can see where the capability gap hurts most. For context, the World Economic Forum (WEF) Future of Jobs 2025 projects 39% to 59% skills churn across the workforce.

New to the term? Read the plain-English definition of the skills matrix in the HR Glossary.

Common questions

How do I estimate output per role?

For revenue-generating roles, use the revenue each role typically produces. For others, use a reasonable measure of output value. Then adjust for time to productivity, since a partly ramped role still produces some value.

How big is the skills churn problem?

Significant and growing. The WEF Future of Jobs 2025 projects 39% to 59% skills churn across the workforce, meaning a large share of skills will shift or need rebuilding over the next several years.

Can I reduce this cost without hiring more people?

Often, yes. Building capability in your existing workforce closes part of the gap without adding headcount, and measuring capability accurately means you target the development where the cost is highest.

This page is general information, not legal advice. We check figures annually and update them on a best-efforts basis, but employment rules change and we cannot promise everything here is current or complete. Before you act on it, confirm the detail with the relevant authority in your country or your own adviser. Last reviewed July 2026.