Canadians feel that it’s the employer’s responsibility to finance employees’ skills training. This is what the last report conducted by Randstad’s WorkMonitor has found.
The shortage of skilled labour is one of the major concerns of Canadian employers. To overcome this difficulty, the federal government has implemented several programs, such as the Canada Job Grant which will come into force in 2017 and will finance half the costs for training and development relating to workforce skills. However, with regards to financing for bringing skills up to date, the issue of whether it’s the employer or the employee that has to bear the cost has not yet been decided.
Keeping skills honed
For Canadian workers, the costs for upgrading skills must undoubtedly be borne by the employer. As evidence, 91% of those interviewed in the study conducted by Randstad’s WorkMonitor in 32 countries across Asia, America, Europa and the Pacific, believe that it is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that employees’ skills are kept in balance with job requirements. Among those interviewed for this report, Canadians were most likely to want the employer to ensure that their skills are kept honed. Conversely, they are the least likely to consider training to have a subsequent impact on their job, at 57%.
However, with regards to digital skills, 67% of Canadian respondents believe that they could have repercussions in their work. And 9% more of them think that social aptitudes will be more and more important in their functions in the future. Finally, 81% of Canadian employees are convinced that experience will also play a determining role in their job.
Greater expectations
The report also revealed that Canadian workers have greater expectations of their employer than a few years ago. So 83% of people interviewed find that the expectations of their company in this regard are greater today than they were five years ago. Furthermore, two thirds of workers, at 65%, indicate that the prerequisites of their job have changed significantly over the last five years. In addition, 70% of them believe that their job will be more demanding in the the next five years. However, no more than 28% think that they will be unable to meet the demands created by their job. On the other hand, 95% of them will do whatever they can to meet the needs of their function.
From their side, employers consider that their employees’ experience plays a more important role than five years ago, at 78% of them. In addition, 76% believe that training and upgrading workers’ skills is now much more decisive. Finally, 86% of them give much more importance to the computer skills of their employees today than five years ago.