Employers and employees prefer on-job training

A new study from Research First shows that service sector on-job training arranged by industry training organisation ServiceIQ has high levels of satisfaction.

82% of trainees and 75% of employers responded that ServiceIQ’s training and qualifications are relevant to their industry. And 80% of trainees and 75% of employers responded that ServiceIQ’s training programmes meet the needs of those in their industry.

It was also clear that on-job training is strongly preferred, especially for new employees. “The employers’ responses show that nearly twice as many employers preferred to train their employees in-house rather than offering outside training (such as paying fees for polytechnics and consultants). Training a new employee via an ITO was a popular choice (by three-quarters) of the employers. This indicates that employers do prefer to train new employees on the job,” states the report.

The research also delved into the reasons that employers and employees made the decision to undertake ServiceIQ on-job training programmes that lead to qualifications.

The top three for employees were:

• To gain practical on-job training and experience (66%)

• Career development/progression (62%)

• Improve my management/leadership capability (48%)

When questioned on their motivations, gaining relevant on-job training was very important to effectively all trainees.

As expected, reasons to engage in training on-job and the key motivator was different for employers.

For employers, the top four reasons were:

• Career development/progression and reward/recognise achievement (62%)
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• Employee interest and commitment to learning (42%)
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• Improved customer satisfaction and product/service quality (35%)
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• Improved employee efficiency and self-reliance (35%)
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The report noted: “Having relevantly trained employees was the key decision motivator for employers and the vast majority of employers felt this was very important. The training programmes offered by ServiceIQ were also very important and were recognised by employers as adding value to their businesses.”

Both employees in training and their employers were asked about their satisfaction with ServiceIQ’s training services and support. Across all of the factors measured (personal interactions, relevance, needs met, level of support, training resources and communication) both groups were generally highly satisfied (between 69 and 79% for trainees and 75 and 80% for employers).

ServiceIQ CEO Andrew McSweeney says the results show that the organisation is performing well.

“It’s a great testament to the hard work that all of the ServiceIQ team has done working with industry, employers and trainees. Overall the results are very positive, but we’re not dropping pace. Work has already started on areas where we can improve.

“The confirmation that on-job training is highly valued is great; we’ll be looking to further increase satisfaction for our employer and trainee customers. Helping our customers succeed by growing their talent is our mission.”

ENDS

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