careerfocus Training day
Whether training budgets have been cut or not, it seems we’re a nation of employees calling out for career enhancement. A four year-long research project by Middlesex University’s Institute for Work Based Learning has revealed that 74 per cent of UK workers say they are not achieving their full potential at work and want more on-the-job training to help them do so.
■ Nine out of 10 people say training is important to them, especially if it’s delivered at work.
■ 83 per cent of those questioned say they would con- sider investing time at home to finish a training course.
■ 72 per cent are so keen to develop their career that they’d be willing to contribute financially for a course.
■ Only a fifth of workers see training as a chance to develop new skills in order to land a new job with a new company.
■ Just over half said the biggest bonus of training was to make them feel more valued in their role, while 44 per cent say it is to make them more effective in their role.
Men retiring this year can expect to receive 50 per cent more income from their pension than their female counterparts with a gender gap of £6,500 according to Prudential.
CAREER DOCTOR
Q: My boss is leaving his job and so I’ll shortly be working with a new manager. How can I ensure a smooth working relationship?
A: The hallmark of a great PA is being able to form a close, and mutually-beneficial working relationship with the managers you work with. Working in such close con- fines means when it’s time for one of you to move on it can be a worry about working with a new boss. You might be used to the working style of your former boss but with the arrival of a new manager you’ll need to take time to work out how they like to work – do they prefer a quick email catch up or a formal face to face, are they happy to leave some tasks in your capable hands or do they want to keep control of all projects and so on. It’s also an opportunity for you to make suggestions for new ways of working. While your old boss may have clung to old fashioned work practices the new boss is more likely to be open to new ideas.
Mirror image
A new survey from the Employers’ Forum on Age has found that employers interviewing potential new staff tend to favour job candidates who are like themselves. The phenomenon is not unusual, as generally in life we tend to gravitate towards those who are similar to us. Almost two-thirds of those surveyed said the workers in their offices were similar to them in terms of age (68%), gender (62%) or social background (53%). So, how can you turn it to your advantage? Research the company you’re interviewing with and try to reflect the company’s ethos in how you dress and act.
IN BRIEF
COSTLY COMMUTE It’s an unlikely correlation but figures from the Office for National Statistics show that the longer your daily commute, the bigger your pay packet. Three out of four workers spend less than a half hour making their way into the office, and those who travel for more than an hour for their commute earn nearly dou- ble that of their peers who have a shorter commute.
TRAINING CUTS According to CIPD two thirds of companies have cut the amount they’ve budgeted for staff training. In comparison just 10 per cent of organisation expect to increase what they invest in their employees’ career development.
PERKS NOT PAY Over 50 per cent of employees would move to a new position without a pay rise if it offered better benefits, says Canada Life, while just under half (49%) say they’d give up part of their salary in order to secure better benefits.
All the latest career development and training news
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www.executivepa.com » June/July 2011
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