3/4 of workers think it's their responsibility to up-skill

14/09/2017 by Andy Winterburgh

The world that we work in is changing at an alarming rate. While our grandparents worked for just 1 or 2 companies it is anticipated that millennials will work in many more companies over their career lifetime and employees believe that it's their skills and the relevancy of those skills that will lead their career path.

So while employers focus on delivery of great learning opportunities to their staff and consider it a key part of the companies benefits package employees themselves are picking up the mantle for their own development.

A study compiled by PwC called Workforce of the future outlines how they found that 74% of workers think it's their responsibility to update their skills rather than their employers. It also found that they believed that those employees with the right skills would indeed be the ones most in demand.

Within the report Blair Sheppard, Global Leader Strategy and Leadership Development, PwC notes that '....intellectual complacency is not our friend and that learning - not just new things but new ways of thinking - is a life long endeavour.' The advice of the report for employees to future proof themselves for success is to consider what you believe the future holds and what is of interest to you and upskill accordingly while being ever flexible and open to further learning.

As for employers, they will need to act as facilitators offering both the opportunity to learn through flexible working and remote working as well as education and training.  

There are a number of UK Financial Services firms that are leading the way in flexible and remote working. Internal Audit is one of many disciplines where employees can work effectively from remote locations as a result of continued technological advances. Many Chief Audit Executives understand this and embrace it allowing them to access talent that other less flexible firms are unable to.

If you'd like to discuss the approach the best Internal Audit functions are using to attract and retain top talent, or you’re an Internal Audit professional and you'd like to find the best employer to future proof your career get in touch with Hybridge today.