Workers value career support as much as salary

UK workers are eager to build up their skills and progress in their careers. The Randstad quarterly workmonitor survey reveals that more than eight out of ten UK workers want to keep developing throughout their careers. A similar proportion believes that their employer should support them in their career development.

The survey highlighted that six out of ten workers would switch jobs if a new employer was better equipped to help them to develop faster. Giving a low priority to training risks losing key talent and could make it harder for companies to compete in a tough business environment.

However employers do not appear to recognise the importance of training in retention. In a similar report by Ranstad which incorporates the perspectives of both employees and employers, when asked what will make their staff stay, employers put training way down the list at number eight.

Graham Trevor, HR Director of Randstad Staffing said: “It is important for organisations to recognise the value that employees attach to learning and development and ensure that their training matches staff expectations. Otherwise they risk losing key talent. It is also important to ensure that training strategies are aligned with overall business goals by identifying the specific skills needed to deliver commercial objectives both now and in the future and judging what gaps may need to be overcome.”