- New Hays Ireland report: employers say soft skills such as people management and critical thinking are in short supply as employers invest in new technologies
- 41% of employers prioritise critical thinking in new hires
- More than a quarter of staff believe they are being failed by their employer in preparation for digital transformation
- Generation Z are the most likely to be improving their technical skills
- Hays Ireland director: “Our research shows a clear disparity between employers and employees when it comes to training and upskilling for the future world of work.”
6 in 10 (63%) Irish employees are covering the cost of their own upskilling and training, even though 57% of employers agree that staff training should be the employer’s responsibility alone.
The surprise finding was revealed in a new report published today by leading recruiting experts, Hays Ireland.
The report found that 43% of Irish employers say emotional intelligence is in highest demand when hiring for future roles; 41% of employers prioritise critical thinking. It also showed that soft skills such as people management and critical thinking are in short supply in today’s workplace.
The Hays Ireland What Workers Want Report 2019, which surveyed 2,100 employers and employees across Ireland, found a disconnect between the two groups when it comes to demand for soft skills. 46% of employees believe an ability to learn, and 45% an ability for problem solving, are the most sought-after soft skills, but neither are in the top two priorities for employers.
Furthermore, in relation to soft skills, the expertise perceived by employers to be in shortest supply among existing employees is emotional intelligence (64%). This skill shortage is followed by people management (63%) and critical thinking (61%).
Looking to upskilling to meet demands for the future world of work, over a quarter of employees (26%) believe that their employer is not helping them to prepare for digital transformation, or the use of new, fast and frequently changing digital technology to solve problems. While 24% say they have received some support, 16% feel the support they have received has been minimal; Baby Boomers are more likely to feel unsupported (39%) than Generation Z (19%). Only 12% of employees overall indicated that they feel fully supported in dealing with current and future change.
Baby Boomers are the most likely to say they are not upskilling in technical areas (44%), compared to 36% of Generation X and 40% of Generation Y.
Generation Z respondents are the most likely to be improving their technical skills, with only 31% saying they are not currently upskilling.
Commenting, Maureen Lynch, Director at Hays Ireland, said:
“Our research shows a clear disparity between employers and employees when it comes to training and upskilling for the modern world of work. Training and upskilling employees is vital, not least for employee retention but to attract new employees and future-proof the workplace.
“Employers should avail of the resources at their disposal, such as training programmes, to assist with upskilling staff. It is essential that employees feel prepared, confident and equipped to deal with changing workplace demands and requirements from employers.
“According to our report, nearly two thirds of employees in Ireland say they are currently enhancing their technical skills and 76% say they are improving their soft skills. Of these employees, a significant 59% are covering the cost for doing so themselves, whilst the rest are being funded by their employer. Interestingly, men are more likely to pay for these training courses themselves than women.
“It is evident that employees in Ireland are taking steps to upskill themselves, and this effort must be recognised and provided by employers, especially as employers continue to invest in new technology.”
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Heather-Ann Cody | [email protected] | 01 637 1777 | 087 681 1876
About Hays
Hays plc (the "Group") is a leading global professional recruiting group. The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK and Asia Pacific and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe and Latin America. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As at 31 December 2018 the Group employed 11,700 staff operating from 262 offices in 33 markets across 20 specialisms. For the year ended 30 June 2018:
– the Group reported net fees of £1.072 billion and operating profit (pre-exceptional items) of £243.4 million;
– the Group placed around 77,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 244,000 people into temporary assignments;
– 19% of Group net fees were generated in Australia & New Zealand, 26% in Germany, 24% in United Kingdom & Ireland and 31% in Rest of World (RoW);
– the temporary placement business represented 58% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 42% of net fees;
– Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, the UK and the USA