Are you suffering from a skills gap in your business? Perhaps the people you want to hire need some extra training and experience to meet the demands of the job. Or maybe a current employee wishes to refresh their skills in order to move up the promotion ladder. If this is the case, you might want to consider providing training programmes for your business.
We delve into how training programmes can be hugely beneficial, not just for your business or organisation, but for the entire UK economy.
The Skills Shortage
There is a serious problem in UK businesses and organisations: a skills shortage. Many high-flying candidates applying for jobs have the right qualifications and education, but they lack the fundamental skills required to do the job.
Fortunately, the number of job vacancies in the UK is falling steadily after an all-time high of 1.3 million vacancies from March to May 2022. Even still, a report by the Learning and Work Institute suggests a shortfall of 2.5 million highly skilled workers by the year 2030. All of this at an estimated cost to the UK economy of £130 billion.
In order to combat this, it is vital that employers provide training programmes for their employees. This is especially the case for career change candidates.
Benefits of Hiring a Career Change Candidate
According to zippia.com, it is estimated that the average person will now have 12 jobs in their lifetime. We’re witnessing more and more people in their 30s, 40s, and 50s making the decision to refresh their careers and get more satisfaction from their work. Granted, some of these candidates might be interested in roles they don’t necessarily have experience in. However, what they do have is many years of work experience and transferable skills from other roles.
There is a whole host of benefits to hiring a career change candidate. For instance, career changers usually switch to a role they feel more passionate about and engaged in. They can bring fresh ideas and a different perspective gained from working in other sectors. Therefore, it is worth investing in training programmes that a career change candidate might benefit from. This has the potential to reinject some life into your business and help to continue closing the skills gap.
Providing Training Programmes
Training programmes will allow you to train current employees who need to boost their qualifications. These programmes will also ensure that career change candidates have the right skills for the job.
Here are some of your best options for implementing training and development programmes:
Adult Apprenticeships and Internships
It’s never too late to do an adult apprenticeship or internship. As an employer, this can be a great way to support your staff to train for new skills whilst working on the job. It may seem like an added expense but, in the long run, training is always a wise investment. There are numerous government funding options available when hiring career changers which will help to offset costs.
For more information, take a look at our dedicated page on how you can save by retraining your staff.
Mentorships
Mentoring isn’t just beneficial for students and graduates starting out in their careers. It can also be an excellent way to quickly and effectively train career-change candidates on the job. Consider pairing your new hire with an experienced employee who they can shadow for a period of time.
This is an excellent option if the career changer has the experience and transferable skills for the job but may lack some technical skills. On top of that, it gives the mentor a chance to refresh their knowledge of the job, possibly getting an outsider’s perspective and some fresh ideas.
Part-Time Study
In 2008/2009, 590,000 people were studying part-time undergraduate courses at universities in the UK. However, by 2019/2020, that number fell to under 270,000; a drop of over 50%. Nevertheless, we’re witnessing a steady increase in the number of mature students. From 2016 to 2021, there has been an increase of 7% in people over 30 studying part-time undergraduate degrees in the UK.
As an employer, by supporting your staff while they undertake part-time study, you are investing in the future of your business and the UK economy. You are helping to ensure that your team have the most up-to-date knowledge and education necessary to excel in their jobs.
Other ways you can support part-time study include employee funding and providing flexible or remote working.
Key Takeaways
Providing training programmes for your current and potential employees is a sound business investment. Not only are you helping to close the skills gap in the UK, but you’re also building a highly skilled workforce who will provide a host of benefits for your business. All the while, you’re helping to attract and retain the best talent for your organisation.
For more information, check out Refreshing a Career’s services page. It has information on promoting your roles on our market-leading career change jobs board, creating a company profile, and more. Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter to stay up-to-date on all of the latest news and information from Refreshing a Career. Finally, feel free to contact our team if you have any queries.
