Businesses
Nearly One in Three UK Workers Lack Confidence in Essential Digital Skills, Adobe Study Finds
27 Oct 2026
New research from Adobe Acrobat reveals significant digital skills gaps across the UK workforce, with 32% struggling to create presentations, 30% lacking confidence in PDF-related tasks and 29% finding spreadsheets challenging. The findings highlight the growing need for workplace training as businesses prepare for 2027.
Almost one-third of UK workers lack confidence in essential workplace technology, according to new research from Adobe Acrobat, raising concerns about digital literacy and its potential impact on business productivity.
The study, which surveyed 2,000 UK adults in April 2026, identifies five major digital skills gaps affecting employees across different industries and age groups. These include creating presentations, working with PDFs, using online collaboration tools, managing spreadsheets and converting files.
Despite the increasing importance of digital skills in modern workplaces, many professionals continue to struggle with tasks considered fundamental to everyday business operations.
The findings come as artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies increase the demand for digital competence, creating additional pressure on organisations to support employee development and workplace efficiency.
The Five Digital Skills UK Workers Struggle With Most
Adobe Acrobat's research identifies presentation creation as the most challenging digital skill, with 32% of respondents reporting a lack of confidence.
Working with PDF documents and using online collaboration tools follow closely, each presenting difficulties for 30% of respondents.
Spreadsheets rank fourth, with 29% lacking confidence, despite being identified as the most essential workplace digital skill by 42% of those surveyed.
File conversion completes the top five, with 28% reporting difficulties.
| Rank | Digital skill | UK adults lacking confidence |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Creating PowerPoint presentations | 32% |
| 2 | Extracting or working with PDF content | 30% |
| 3 | Using online collaboration tools such as Teams, Slack and Google Docs | 30% |
| 4 | Using spreadsheets such as Excel and Google Sheets | 29% |
| 5 | Converting files between formats | 28% |
Source: Adobe Acrobat survey of 2,000 UK adults, conducted by 3Gem in April 2026.
These findings highlight a gap between the digital tools employees are expected to use and their confidence in completing everyday tasks.
For businesses, such gaps can create additional demands for technical support, internal assistance and employee training.
Spreadsheet Skills Remain Essential but Confidence Is Low
Spreadsheets continue to play an important role across business functions, including finance, administration, operations and reporting.
According to the study, 42% of respondents consider spreadsheet skills the most essential digital capability in today's workplace.
However, 29% admit they lack confidence when working with tools such as Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets.
This difference between perceived importance and practical confidence points to a potential training priority for employers.
Employees who struggle with spreadsheet functions may require additional assistance when managing data, preparing reports or completing analytical tasks.
As organisations increasingly rely on digital information for operational and strategic decisions, improving spreadsheet literacy could help employees work more independently and effectively.
The Generational Digital Divide in UK Workplaces
The research also identifies differences in digital confidence between younger and older workers.
Adults aged 18–34 report the highest confidence across several workplace technology tasks, while those aged over 55 generally report lower confidence.
Among younger respondents, 77% feel confident editing documents, 76% converting files and 73% extracting information from PDFs.
By comparison, only 43% of over-55s report confidence in extracting PDF content, while 47% feel confident editing documents and 45% using spreadsheets.
| Digital skill | Age 18–34 | Age 55+ |
|---|---|---|
| Editing documents | 77% confident | 47% confident |
| Extracting content from PDFs | 73% confident | 43% confident |
| File conversion | 76% confident | Not specified |
| Using spreadsheets | Not specified | 45% confident |
Source: Adobe Acrobat, April 2026. Figures not included in the release have been left unspecified.
The findings also reveal differences in how workers approach unfamiliar digital tasks.
Half of respondents aged over 55 would ask a colleague or friend for help, while 40% of those aged 18–34 would search online for an answer.
These behaviours suggest that different age groups may benefit from different forms of digital learning and support.
For employers, providing accessible training and opportunities for knowledge sharing could help address confidence gaps across the workforce.
Digital Skills Challenges Vary Across Industries
Adobe's study identifies particular digital literacy challenges within fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), arts and culture.
Half of FMCG professionals surveyed, or 50%, report lacking confidence when editing or formatting documents.
This suggests that even basic document-management tasks can create difficulties within industries where operational efficiency and communication are important.
In the arts and culture sector, 39% of respondents struggle with spreadsheets, while the same proportion report difficulties with file conversion.
These findings indicate that digital training requirements may vary considerably depending on the industry and the tools employees use most frequently.
Businesses may therefore benefit from assessing their workforce's specific needs rather than adopting identical digital training programmes across every department.
PDF Skills Are Becoming a Growing Workplace Challenge
PDF-related tasks stand out as another significant concern.
According to the research, 30% of respondents lack confidence extracting or working with content in PDFs, making it one of the most common digital skills gaps identified.
Other difficulties include file conversion, digital document signing and PDF editing.
| PDF-related task | Respondents lacking confidence |
|---|---|
| Extracting or working with PDF content | 30% |
| File conversion | 28% |
| Signing and managing digital documents | 27% |
| Editing or formatting PDFs | 26% |
Adobe also examined search behaviour relating to document-management tasks.
Searches for "fill in PDF" increased by 23% over the previous three months, while searches for "sign PDF" rose by 23.5%.
Meanwhile, "edit PDF" attracted approximately 60,000 monthly searches, and "remove pages from PDF" generated around 37,000 monthly searches.
The findings suggest continued demand for guidance on managing digital documents.
However, search volume does not necessarily indicate that all users are struggling with these tasks, as some searches may reflect ordinary interest in available tools or instructions.
Why Digital Skills Training Matters for Business Growth
The research highlights an important challenge for employers as workplace technology continues to develop.
Digital literacy is no longer limited to specialist technical roles. Employees across departments are increasingly expected to use spreadsheets, collaboration platforms, digital documents and other software as part of their everyday responsibilities.
When employees lack confidence with these tools, organisations may face additional support requirements and difficulties maintaining efficient workflows.
The introduction of AI-powered workplace applications creates another consideration. Although AI can simplify some tasks, employees still need the digital skills required to use software effectively, assess outputs and manage information appropriately.
Adobe's findings suggest that organisations preparing for 2027 should consider digital literacy as part of workforce development.
This could include providing practical training, encouraging employees to share knowledge and ensuring support is available for commonly used tools.
How Businesses Can Address Digital Skills Gaps
The survey identifies several areas where employers could focus their training and development efforts.
Presentation software, spreadsheets and PDF management are immediate priorities because they combine widespread workplace use with relatively high levels of reported uncertainty.
Businesses could begin by reviewing which tasks employees find most challenging and identifying where those difficulties affect everyday operations.
Training programmes can then be adapted to individual roles and departments, ensuring employees develop skills relevant to their responsibilities.
Accessible learning resources and opportunities for peer support may also help workers improve their confidence over time.
For organisations undergoing digital transformation, the findings reinforce the importance of investing in employee capabilities alongside new technologies.
Without appropriate training, introducing additional digital tools may not deliver the intended improvements in workplace performance.
Digital Literacy as a Priority for 2027
Adobe Acrobat's research reveals that significant digital confidence gaps remain across the UK workforce, particularly in presentation creation, document management, collaboration and spreadsheets.
The findings also demonstrate that these challenges affect different age groups and industries in different ways.
As businesses increasingly adopt digital systems and AI-enabled software, supporting employees with fundamental technology skills could become an important part of maintaining productivity and operational efficiency.
The study suggests that workplace digital transformation requires more than investment in software. It also depends on ensuring employees have the confidence and practical knowledge to use those tools effectively.
For UK organisations planning their workforce development strategies for 2027, improving digital literacy may offer an opportunity to strengthen everyday business operations while preparing employees for further technological change.
About Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Acrobat is a software suite for creating, editing, converting, managing and electronically signing PDF documents.
Its features include file conversion, document merging, redaction, digital signatures and AI-powered document summarisation.
The product is available through desktop, mobile and web applications, including Acrobat Reader, Standard, Pro and Studio.
Share
Sara Srifi
Sara is a Software Engineering and Business student with a passion for astronomy, cultural studies, and human-centered storytelling. She explores the quiet intersections between science, identity, and imagination, reflecting on how space, art, and society shape the way we understand ourselves and the world around us. Her writing draws on curiosity and lived experience to bridge disciplines and spark dialogue across cultures.
