Prosper Spring

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & TRAINING
Money not always the answer in
cost-of-living inspired war for talent
There is little doubt that there is a growing
recruitment crisis in the UK, with 2022’s
Great Resignation hitting a market already
ravaged by Brexit and economic instability.
But figures from a new report published in
February by strategic skills training provider,
Corndel, show that there is hope for HR
managers who don’t have the bottomless
pockets required for salary gazumping or
above-inflation wage hikes.
Corndel surveyed 500 senior HR leaders
and 2,000 employees, with 60% of
employees saying they would be more likely
to go for a position with a personalised
professional development and career
progression plan, even when another job
offered a slightly higher salary.
The survey compared a role at £35,000
with personalised professional development
and a career progression plan, with an
identical one at £37,000 but without the
development and progression
opportunities. 63% of women and 68% of
younger employees (aged 18-34) also went
with the job offering lower salary but more
development opportunities.
The survey also detailed how 83% of
employees felt that professional
development in the workplace made them
feel more valued, with 47% saying it made
them feel much more valued.
Corndel’s Workplace Training 2023 report
details how employers should use the
apprenticeship levy as a budget-conscious
way to fund workplace development where
‘‘
60% of employees would be
more likely to go for a
position with a personalised
professional development
and career progression
plan, than a job with a
slightly higher salary...
‘‘
possible, resisting the standard recessionera
practice of letting training drop down
the list of priorities. 75% of the 500 senior
HR leaders surveyed said that economic
uncertainty was impacting their company’s
learning and development strategy for 2023,
with 49% of those with a learning and
development strategy confirming they will
be spending less on learning and
development over the coming year.
Management and data expertise were
highlighted as the main skills gaps,
especially in the workplace that HR leaders
have come back to postpandemic.
Management skills for hybrid
working were said to be a shortage for 36%
of HR leaders, with flexible working skills a
shortage for 35% and data/digital skills a
shortage for 34%.
Professional Development: Why more
businesses are upskilling staff to combat
‘recruitment crisis’
With the UK experiencing
significant labour and skills shortages,
businesses are investing additional
resources into training and upskilling their
current workforce.
The House of Lords’ economic affairs
committee reported that the UK is in the
midst of a recruitment crisis, with people in
their 50s and 60s retiring early during
Covid-19 lockdowns listed as the main
reason for the skills shortage. The
committee has predicted the situation will
worsen into 2023 and beyond.
What out clients say about Chamber
management development programmes
‘‘ Having completed six months of my Management
Course and having to unconventionally partake
via Zoom due to the pandemic, it has certainly
presented some challenges but equally, plenty of
opportunities.
Alice Higginson,
Hill and Smith Limited
‘‘
‘‘ The Black Country Chamber management
development programme under Wendyanne
Shapiro is a great way for companies to
invest in the futures of their staff.
Mark Nicholls,
CKCA Limited
‘‘
‘‘ Attend and you will only learn and improve
yourself as a manager, leader and a person. I
guarantee this programme will develop you
not just as a manager, but as a person.
Lee Stanford,
Edward Howell Galvanizers Ltd
‘‘ I am so glad I pushed on with this
course… as I am already using the
new skills and tools I learned with
the amazing Wendyanne Shapiro
and my peers on the course.
Stuart Davies,
Wedge Group Galvinizing Ltd
‘‘
‘‘
‘‘ I didn’t know exactly what to
expect but from the first
lesson on the management
course I knew it was
something well worth doing. I
have grown both
professionally and personally
massively. The tools this
course has given myself and
my colleagues has helped to
develop our business vastly.
James Long,
Vacuum & Atmosphere
Services Ltd
‘‘
54 PROSPER SPRING 2023