Tamara's Comments

A durable change in the Corporate Learning Culture?

We asked Tamara if she’s seeing a durable change in the Corporate Learning

Culture, as more and more companies seem to be starting to invest in their employees again, to keep them from leaving, by offering them training and career development within the company. Here is what she said: COMMENTAIRES DE TAMARA There is indeed a renewed interest, but I would say it is related to labour supply and demand: when availability of labour is scarce, then you have employers paying a lot more attention to skill development. Last year, we did a round of discussions with employers in the London area and some of them said that they used to hire only "semi-skilled" people, but that they now have to recruit "unskilled people" because semi-skilled workers are in very short supply. According to a recent national survey from the Canadian Education and

Research Institute for Counselling (CERIC)1, 81% of the 501 senior executives from Canadian businesses they asked at the end of last year, found it difficult to find people with the right skill set to fill positions in their company.

Tamara has heard from employers that one of the things that matters the most is demonstrating work ethic. Employers are much more willing to invest in training for employees who show a strong work ethic. She recalls one employer summarizing bluntly: "I will train someone to learn any skill directly related to my business. But I don’t know how to train someone to want to actually come to work." Here again, the CERIC survey shows that the sample of executives asked share the same feeling: 78% say they would hire someone with soft skills and provide training rather than keep searching for someone with the right technical skills. Her understanding is that companies will invest when there's at least a potential long-term commitment. ■