Nearly nine in 10 organisations are adapting their learning methods to better suit the needs of their Gen Z employees, with some choosing to use more gamification, a survey has found.
Business and financial advisory firm Grant Thornton found that 88% of UK employers are changing their L&D methods to meet the needs of those who have only recently entered the workforce.
Thirty-six per cent of the 605 UK businesses surveyed have introduced more personalised training tailored to individual needs, while 32% were offering more on-demand content and 30% using more gamification in their training.
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More than a third of the organisations surveyed said they found it more difficult to motivate Generation Z (people born between 1997 and 2012), than the generations before them.
Further research among 2,000 16 to 25-year-olds found that many felt unprepared for verbal presentations and lacked persuading and influencing skills. This was also reflected in employers’ responses, who noted that Gen Z needed support with developing these softer skills.
Thirty-one per cent of young people felt that being expected to study outside of working hours was unreasonable, which is a common requirement for those working towards a professional qualification.
Ronnie Corbett, audit culture director at Grant Thornton UK, said: “This insight into how the current generation of young people view careers and work will help to inform and shape decision-making about how we best support them as they progress – after all, these are the people that will be running our firm one day.
“Generalisations are easy to make, but we must be mindful that there are many different factors that determine a person’s mindset and motivation – age is just one of them. Workplaces, and society at large, are rife with age-related (across generations) stereotypes, which are not always accurate. This is why it is important that we better understand how beliefs about age affect our workplace and work to dispel some of the rhetoric that creates barriers and inhibits cohesion. ”
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