Employees request training on their wish list in 2012

Findcourses.co.uk conducted an online survey to find out what employees were hoping for in the New Year within their organization, during December 2011. The majority of respondents replied that they would like more opportunities for skills development (43%) and the chance for professional development in the coming year. Similar results were found in Sweden (42%), Germany (41%) and Finland (40%), whereby respondents took part in the same survey, suggesting a universal feel for more training for skills development across Western Europe.

The possibility for more Flexible Working Opportunities was another request for 2012 by employees in the UK (30%). Flexible Working, an organisation’s working arrangements for employees working hours, working location and pattern of working, came into focus during autumn 2011 and aims to bring work-life benefits to employees.

Another wish that employees stated in the survey was More Challenging Work Tasks (13%) to help them feel motivated in the workplace and enjoy working at their company. 10% of respondents were completely satisfied with their work situation and organization and didn’t want to change anything.

Although there had been a sense of companies reducing the amount they spent on training last year, Findcourses.co.uk witnessed an increase of 70% in the number of training enquiries that came through their Professional Development search engine.

In previous online surveys’ there had been a strong desire for more job security amongst employees in the UK as unemployment rates soared. There were also widespread reports of Briton’s being kept awake at night worrying about the future of the country’s economy – and meeting their own ends meet during 2012.

“Employees across the country are thinking about the future and realize that in order for them to be indispensable to their employers they must ensure their skills are up-to-date and have taken part training programmes. Partaking in Professional Development has never been so important to both employees and employers.” said Kate Butterworth, Site Manager at Findcourses.co.uk.

With more pressure than ever on resources and budgets as we enter 2012, there is a real need to find new ways to make finding training simpler, quicker and more effective. HR Managers are being forced to do more with less this year when it comes to their budgets, and we at Findcourses.co.uk have witnessed an increase in training quotes from HR Managers and Learning & Development Officers in the last 3 months, but particularly during the first weeks of the new year.

“Our goal is to help people find training for Professional Development simpler, quicker and more effectively, which is why we offer our free training quote service to HR Managers and training buyers – and can provide them with quotes easily, through close contact with training providers in each industry.” says Kate Butterworth, Site Manager at Findcourses.co.uk.