New York – October 28, 2026 -- More than 90% of procurement leaders say skills shortfalls are already limiting their ability to deliver on business objectives, and 66% say their training budget is insufficient, according to new Procurious research.
Almost 60% of procurement teams have no formal skills framework
The report, The Procurement Skills and Training Gap, finds that almost 60% of respondents have no formal procurement capability or skills framework. More than half lack either the budget or the time and resources to develop and maintain training programs.
Where development opportunities exist, 52% of respondents say they do not actively participate because of workload.
Forty percent of teams have no defined per-employee training budget
Nine percent of respondents invest nothing per employee in training. Asked what the right spend would be, 36% say $2,000 or more, and a further 21% say between $1,500 and $2,000.
Respondents expect savings, productivity and compliance to suffer within 24 months
If current skill gaps go unaddressed over the next 12 to 24 months, respondents expect a negative impact on cost savings and cost avoidance, team productivity and output per FTE, regulatory compliance and audit risk, and supply chain disruptions.
On specific consequences, 30% say regulatory compliance and audit risk reduction would suffer. Another 22% point to revenue outcomes, including time to market and supplier innovation, and 21% say supply disruptions would be harder to mitigate.
Stakeholder influence and commercial acumen rank behind AI as 2030 priorities
Behind AI and digital fluency, respondents rank stakeholder engagement and influence (42%) and commercial acumen (39%) as the next priority skills for 2030.
Procurious Founder Tania Seary said capability development too often prioritises sales and revenue growth, leaving the people managing cost, risk and compliance under-resourced. She argued that as AI takes over more transactional work, procurement leaders will face tougher commercial calls on supplier strategy, markets and risk. In her words, "The business has to put time and money behind it."
Companies above $5 billion in revenue report heavier impact
Forty-five percent of respondents at companies with revenue above $5 billion say capability gaps create noticeable or significant challenges. Across all respondents, the figure is 36%.