According to the 2013 Kelly Global Workforce Index (KGWI), responsibility for training and skills development is shifting to employees who are dictating the way that training is designed, provided, and funded. There is also some reassurance for employers who often fear that any investment in training will be lost when staff depart. The good news is that the majority of employees who are seeking training are motivated by a desire to stay with their current employer.
The 2013 KGWI brings work and workplace insights sourced from more than 120,000 respondents from 31 countries across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC regions. This first installment, on the topic of Career Development and Upskilling, explores the changing focus on training and skills development, as employees become more proactive and self-reliant in managing their careers.
When asked to identify the main motivation for learning new skills or undertaking training, the largest share of employees (57 percent) cite the opportunity for promotion with their current employer, according to KGWI. The study found that a further 47 percent cite the opportunity for promotion/advancement at another company, and 42 percent plan to enter a new field of work.
In essence, the largest group of employees are motivated to undertake additional training or skills development by a desire to stay in their current job. At the same time, a smaller but still significant number are keeping their options open to a diverse range of opportunities outside their current employment.
Regional Outlook
The link between training and staff retention varies across the globe. In the Americas and APAC, the prime reason employees undertake training is to gain promotion with their current employer, meaning employers will have a good chance of recouping the investment in their newly trained workers.
However, in EMEA, employees who are seeking training are not overwhelmingly focused on staying with their current employer, being almost equally motivated by a desire to switch employers or even enter a new field of work. The desire to use training as a launchpad to start a business is significantly more in APAC as it is in the Americas and EMEA.
The upheaval in labor markets over recent years and business cutbacks in funding of professional development have changed the way that many employees view the need for upskilling. Rather than relying on their employer, they are taking control of their own career development.
Globally, 60 percent of workers are either actively seeking further education or training (23 percent), or considering it (37 percent) to pursue a new field of work. The APAC region stands out as a skilling hotspot, with 69 percent of those surveyed either considering or seeking further training.
Country Outlook
Across the globe, there are markedly different approaches to the notion of additional training and professional development. The highest rates of planned upskilling are predominantly in developing economies, while the lowest rates tend to be in some of the most prosperous nations.
Russia heads the list for training intensity, with an astonishing 92 percent planning some form of training. Also high on the list are Thailand, Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, Puerto Rico and Malaysia. The lowest rates of planned training are in France, the United States, Switzerland, and Sweden.
