Employees in the Dark on Training

Employees in the Dark on Training

It’s all well and good that you offer your employees the best training and development your company can afford. The problem is many of these workers have no idea such opportunities to better themselves exist. According to the Emerging Workforce Survey, released last fall by staffing and recruitment firm Spherion Corp., based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., there may be a serious disconnect between your training department and the workers it purports to help.

The findings are based on two separate surveys; the results of the employer survey are based on 502 telephone and online interviews with senior human resources executives at U.S. companies conducted between March 21 and April 27; data on U.S. employed adults was gathered from the Harris Interactive QuickQuery online omnibus conducted monthly by Harris Interactive on behalf of Spherion. Sample sizes of the Spherion Employment Report vary between 2,500 and 3,100 among U.S. employed adults.

A comparison of results from these two groups shows a substantial gap in understanding. While 92 percent of employers who participated in the survey reported offering funding to attend seminars and trade shows, for instance, just 28 percent of employee respondents said such funding exists. When it comes to the provision of internal training sessions, 91 percent of employers said it’s available to workers, but, by contrast, only 46 percent of employees reported that they knew of such programming. Similarly, 89 percent of employers said they offer external training sessions, though just 26 percent of employees reported that their company provides these sessions to them.

On tuition assistance, 69 percent of employers claimed they offer it, but just 31 percent of workers reported their companies making it available to them. The ignorance of workers to their companies’ training benefits extends to the online world as well, the study points out. Though 58 percent of employers said they provide online skills training; a scant 20 percent of workers reported their companies supplying them with this service. And, while 37 percent of companies said they offer online career development programs, only 14 percent of employees responded that their employers are providing them with this.

For more information, visit www.spherion.com