97% of workers in Northern Ireland are not in their dream job

Survey reveals that 97% of workers in Northern Ireland are not in their dream job
76% of respondents say they would return to college or retrain to get to where they want to be.
Politicians the least favoured profession in Northern Ireland

A massive 97% of workers in Northern Ireland are not in their dream job according to a new survey from NIjobs.com. When asked what steps they would take to get their dream job 76% say they would ìreturn to college or retrainî, 38% said they would earn less money and a further 33% said they would ìrelocate overseasî

The Managing Director of NIjobs.com Peter McMonagle comments ìWhile it is staggering that 97% of people are not in their dream job it is heartening to see that 76% of respondents say they would return to college or retrain to get to where they want to be. At NIjobs.com we recognized the value of training and have partnered with one of the UKís leading online training providers Home Learning College so people can work towards their dream job but from the comfort of their own home and in their own time.î
He continued ëíAnd of course, with over 2,000 jobs advertised on our site across all industry sectors we are confident that career seekers will find everything they need on NIjobs.com to reach their career goalsíí
According to our respondents the most important part of a dream job would be ìhaving fun at workî 60% with the impact of the recession showing in the second favourite ìa big salaryî 46.% this was followed by ìbeing creativeî 41% then ìmaking a difference to societyî 38%. The two least important aspects were ìlots of travelî 17% and ìbeing in chargeî 14%

Dave Snow, Academic Director at Home Learning College says: ìUnfortunately we read similar statistics on a regular basis and we see first-hand that people are taking more control over their lives and studying for qualifications that will provide them with new opportunities for changing jobs and career directions. People often wonder how they can fit study into their busy lives but at Home Learning College we have worked out exactly how to do this from the comfort of your home, while providing high quality tutor support and an interactive, engaging learning community where students meet to discuss academic issues and also relax to chat socially. Our industry recognized courses can take you into areas such as accounting, web design, computer maintenance, bookkeeping, payroll, marketing, child care, computer engineering, teaching assistance and business management to name but a few. î

The survey also asked jobseekers what they had wanted to be when they were children - teacher, vet and footballer all ranked highly. Although some respondents admitted to loftier ambitions with one wanting to be a cowboy, another wanting to be an astronaut while another wanting to be a tank driver. When asked what their dream job would be now for many respondents teaching remained popular as did the caring and medical professions with jobs such as social worker, nurse, doctor or childcare worker being named. Politicians were the least favourite profession amongst respondents.

Other research findings revealed which local celebrity job career seekers would most like to have; Christina Bleakley, the presenter of the BBCís The One Show who is originally from Newtownards, Co Down and the Ballymena born actor Liam Neeson topped the poll with 17% of respondents saying they would like their jobs. They were closely followed by the girls aloud singer and Derry girl Nadine Coyle (15%) and BBC DJ Colin Murray (10%) who is from Dundonald. Comedian Paddy Kielty was the bottom of the list with just 1%.