Employees ‘must make themselves valuable’

Workers must make themselves valuable to the organisation they work for in order to keep their job during the current economic downturn.

This is the opinion of careers author and advisor Sarah Berry, who said that employees should take on opportunities for training and development to optimise their chances of remaining in their position.

Speaking in association with the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), she said that the financial services sector has been hit the hardest by the turmoil seen on the world’s markets of late, adding that associated sectors may also suffer.

Ms Berry advised: "You need to train, to gain new skills, be a valuable team member and perhaps be willing to take on things that you wouldn’t have done in the past."

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Research released recently by the LSC identified writing skills as the top area for people to brush up on in order to help them survive the credit crunch.

Following this, mental arithmetic, presentation skills, IT competence and leadership skills also featured in the top five.