Indian employees want more training

NEW DELHI, INDIA: The importance of continued training and skills development has been highlighted by a recent international workplace survey that shows approximately nine out of 10 Indian respondents believe their current skills will be outdated within five years.

The survey, by Kelly Services, finds more than a third of the respondents believe the training currently provided by their employers will not meet their future career needs.

The Kelly Global Workforce Index obtained the views of nearly 1,00,000 people in 34 countries including almost 5,000 in India.

Dhiren Shantilal, Senior VP—Asia Pacific, Kelly Services said that in an increasingly competitive global economy, investing in vital human capital can become a key competitive advantage for firms. “Training may not seem a priority in the present economic climate, but organizations that devote the resources will be more likely to see higher productivity and profitability in future,” he said.

Key findings of the survey:

-Baby boomers (aged 48-65) are most worried about the level of training they receive, with 43 percent saying it is not sufficient to upgrade skills and advance their career

-90 percent of both Gen Y (aged 18-29) and Gen X (aged 30-47) say that within the next five years their skills will need to be upgraded to keep pace with changes in the workplace

-Most Gen X respondents (72 percent) see the provision of training as a joint responsibility between the employer and employee

-Human resource professionals come under scrutiny, with almost a third (32 percent) of all respondents saying their HR departments have not helped them to achieve their employment goals

Among respondents, 69 percent say that training should be a joint responsibility between an employer and employee.

The preference among those surveyed is for on-the-job training (52 percent), followed by professional development courses (33 percent), self-initiated learning (13 percent) and formal university or college qualifications (3 percent).

More women respondents preferred on-the-job training, and men preferred professional development courses as the best method to upgrade their skills.

Shantilal also mentioned, “The current economic environment has made people well aware of their skills and whether they will be sufficient to survive the recession and beyond, into a period of economic recovery.”