Only half of employees have been given opportunities to develop skills that will keep up with advances in their industry.
A survey of 996 office workers by employee engagement agency Ipsos Karian and Box found that just 54% said their employer had given them sufficient opportunities to learn new skills, despite 74% expressing a desire to develop.
The experience of L&D opportunities at work differs by gender, educational background, income and age, with higher earners, younger workers and men the most likely to have been given sufficient opportunities to learn new skills.
Workers earning more than £55,000 were twice as likely as those earning up to £20,000 to have been given decent L&D opportunities. Equally, people under 34 were twice as likely than those aged 55-64 to agree.
Fifty-eight per cent of men said they had been given sufficient development opportunities, compared with 50% of women.
On-the-job training was recognised as the most beneficial learning method by two in three workers.
Despite the increasing utilisation of artificial intelligence in many roles, half of employees said they had not had the opportunity to learn about using AI at work. Only half expressed a desire to learn new skills to prevent AI replacing their job, with one in five actively disagreeing to reskill to prevent this.
“There is a moral imperative for employers to not only define the jobs and skills of the future but to ensure that the workforce is prepared for them. The data shows that there is a long way to go before this becomes a reality,” said Ipsos Karian and Box CEO Ghassan Karian.
“Equally challenging are the major demographic differences in learning experiences. Older, poorer, and/or less educated employees are less likely to be offered opportunities to develop and grow at work, and there is a significant technology gender gap that shows little sign of abating. This is likely to entrench established disadvantages in society.”
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Ipsos UK and Ireland chief people officer Kerri O’Neill said: “Ipsos research shows that on-the-job learning and coaching is both the most preferred and one of the most impactful ways for people to learn at work. Employers need to look beyond the training room to define innovative solutions to enable learning in the flow of work – this is too important for HR departments to have a blind spot on.”
