Many Kiwi workers don't believe global trends such as climate change and the encroachment of artificial intelligence will impact their jobs in the future, new research has found.
Although people know change is coming, up to 83 per cent of employees surveyed believed their job would still exist in the next five years.
These are among key findings in the Skills Consulting Group's (SCG) Future of Work Report where The Research Agency (TRA) surveyed 1448 Kiwi workers and 101 businesses.
SCG Director, Gwyn Thomas, says the research shows that despite the fact most people can see change coming, they seem unaware of the potential impact on their position in the workforce.
While 59 per cent of employees said they know about the skills shortage, 56 per cent are aware of climate change and 51 per cent see the encroachment of artificial intelligence (AI), more than half believed these global trends would have no impact on their job.
They were disconnected from the reality of global trends and the general consensus was, says Thomas, 'this is New Zealand, it won't happen here'.
The key to side-stepping the threat posed by these global trends is learning new skills. Even though Kiwi workers aren't convinced their jobs are threatened, they believe that upskilling is essential.
Eighty-three per cent of employees reported they'd need to learn new skills to keep up with the rapid pace of change, and 85 per cent of organisations recognised their people would need to upskill.
Internal upskilling opportunities to improve in-role performance would be embraced by more than half of those surveyed. Young workers, aged 18 – 34, placed a higher value on training, as did those who work in government and healthcare sectors, and Māori and Pasifika employees.
"What is clear in the research is that the more supportive a company is of learning and development, the more satisfied, motivated and likely to stay at a company an employee is," says Thomas.
Thomas says offering an effective learning and development programme isn't just about upgrading hard skills. The skills that are in demand are in fact the soft, transferable skills that are uniquely human.
Employees want leadership, mentoring, creative thinking and communication skills taught, with the most in-demand areas being problem solving at 47 per cent (of those surveyed) and critical thinking at 42 per cent.
Yet only 19 per cent of organisations offered problem-solving courses, and only 14 per cent were offering training to develop critical thinking.
"It is essential to business success that organisations start offering a robust learning and development programme that is personalised to individual employee needs, covering these soft, human skills, to retain employees, maintain productivity and ensure they have future-proofed their organisation," Thomas says.
"While change at a global level is coming for us – and it is inevitable – front-footing these changes by equipping our people with necessary skills means that employees are more likely to stay and will set up business for success in the future. The future of work is human."
Find out how you can lead your people through the huge transformations at work, by downloading your free copy of The Future of Work is Human, here. Skills Consulting Group has dedicated consultants who provide tailored training and advice to your organisation. Visit www.skillsconsultinggroup.co.nz
About the research:
Of the sample surveyed by TRA, 53 per cent were Pākehā, 43 per cent were aged 35 – 54, 53 per cent were male, with 23 per cent working for a secondary industry, 27 per cent working in government and 18 per cent in retail. There was an almost even split between office and non-office based respondents, at 49 per cent v 51 per cent, and 35 per cent had worked in their industry for 11 years or more. The majority of employees surveyed were in a mid-level position, having held between 3 to 5 other jobs previously, and worked for a large company of over 500 employees.