We’ll say it again! Recruiting great talent has been a challenge over the last couple of years.

‘We get it, there’s a talent shortage!’

And there’s so many reasons why that’s the case, but what is one of the biggest?

A lack of training and development is creating challenges around the acquisition of key skillsets as current workers are not being up-skilled and a fresh generation of talent isn’t being given the opportunity to flourish.

‘Thats a bold statement!’

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But research shows only 62% of workers received workplace training in 2017, which included inductions and health and safety courses. And participation in training has been in decline since 1998.

As new skills and technologies emerge (hey there digital marketers, PPC’ers, SEO’ers … the list goes on), it’s important that businesses invest in their workforce of today to ensure they’re competitive in an ever developing world.

It’s anticipated that if more re-skilling and up-skilling doesn’t take place, by 2030, two thirds of the UK workforce could be lacking in basic digital skills, with more than 10 million people under skilled in areas such as leadership, communication and decision making.

Training and development is how we help solve some of the challenges faced around recruitment, but it should be at the heart of your talent acquisition plans as well as your culture.

A reported 87% of millennials say that training and development opportunities are an influential factor when deciding whether to accept a new job - making it a fantastic talent acquisition tool in a generation who are set to dominate the workforce by 2025. And 94% of employees would stay at a company who invest in their development for longer - improving talent retention rates.

Putting training and development at the heart of your acquisition plan will have short and long-term impacts. During the short-term, talent acquisition may be easier and retention rates may improve, but longer-term you’ll be contributing to solving aspects of the skills shortage.

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Header: Image adapted from photo by Photo by Buro Millennial: https://www.pexels.com/photo/two-women-having-conversation-on-stairs-1438084/