British workers look for new roles as number of promotions halved by the pandemic
A survey published in February 2021 by learning and development company HowNow has found that the number of promotions for British workers has fallen by 48% compared to the previous year, leading to a surge of people looking for a new job.
It’s fair to say that the past two years has seen everyone’s priorities change, and this is no different for businesses, who are reported to have spent 67% less on training for employees since February 2020. While it’s not surprising that people’s minds have been elsewhere, the result is that 42% of people looking for a new job are doing so because they feel there is a lack of room for growth in their current role.
But it’s not just promotions that people are hoping for – 30% of those surveyed revealed that due to a lack of formal workplace training in the past five years, they no longer feel as though they have the right skills for their job. Even those who aren’t looking to be promoted feel as though they are unable to develop their skills in their existing role.
With 35% of workers agreeing that the opportunity to continually progress and develop their skills is one of the main drivers for staying with their company, employers face a retention crisis if they are unable to provide those opportunities. At a time where the admin of changing jobs is at an all-time low due to people working from home, employers must be willing to give their employees the ability to grow their skills within the business, or risk losing them to a company that will.
But what can be done when 15% of employers say the cost of training is too high, and a further 16% say that they do not have the budget to invest in training their employees? One suggestion is to implement mentorship programmes across existing staff, building a bridge between those who want to develop and those who have knowledge to share without incurring large training costs.
With 73% of workers reporting that they felt receiving training was beneficial for their future career aspirations, but 75% having received no training or significantly less training since the onset of the pandemic, it may be that the time has come for workers to take their development into their own hands and steer their career in the right direction.
This will become a more viable option thanks to investments made in the National Skills Fund and increased access to training courses. Paul Price Hazlehurst, CEO of Futures Management Group, shared this his thoughts on the funding:
“At the Spending Review in November 2020, the Chancellor announced £375 million from the overall investment for the National Skills Fund to cover the financial year 2021 to 2022. This includes £95 million of additional funding to give adults free access to level 3 qualifications. Our staff have extensive knowledge and access to local and national training courses to support individuals and organisations develop and grow within today’s economy.”
Whether you’re looking for training that will give your CV a boost or are an organisation looking to upskill your workforce, Futures can help.
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