A recent international workplace survey has highlighted the importance of training and skills development, and shows that more than three quarters of Australian respondents believe their current skills will be outdated within five years.
The workplace survey, conducted by Kelly Services , found that almost half of the respondents believe the training currently provided by their employers will not meet their future career needs. The Kelly global workforce index obtained the views of nearly 100,000 people in 34 countries, including more than 13,000 in Australia.
According to Kelly Services, investing in vital human capital can become a competitive advantage for firms. Training may not seem a priority in the present economic climate, but organisations that devote the resources can see higher productivity and profitability in the future. The workplace survey highlights the significance that employees across the generational age groups place on training and skills development to sustain them in a changing labour market.
Following are the key findings of the workplace survey:
- Baby boomers (aged 48 to 65) are most worried about the level of training, with 59% saying it is not sufficient to upgrade skills and advance their career.
- 83% of Gen X (aged 30 to 47) say that within the next five years their skills will need to be upgraded to keep pace with changes in the workplace.
- 73% Gen Y (aged 18 to 29) see the provision of training as a joint responsibility between the employer and employee.
- On-the-job training is the preferred form of training nominated by employees.
Human resource professionals come under scrutiny, with almost half of all respondents saying their HR department has not helped them to achieve their employment goals. Women are generally more concerned than men about their skill sets and have a higher expectation of their employers’ HR departments in managing their careers.
Among respondents, almost three quarters (74%) say that training should be a joint responsibility between an employer and employee. The preference among those surveyed is for on-the-job training (48%), followed by professional development courses (31%), self-initiated learning (11%) and formal university or college qualifications (10%).