Retraining workers 'could benefit employers'

Employers could greatly benefit from re-training their employees, according to one expert.

Research by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has found that over the next ten years, two-thirds of jobs will require skilled workers.

This means that people will need a portfolio of skills, in the opinion of Anjula Mutanda, a psychology consultant and life coach.

From an employer's point of view if they are re-skilling their employees it's always a benefit to them at the end of the day because you've got a workforce that is tooled up and ready to go, said Ms Mutanda.

The research by the LSC also found that over three-quarters of the people learning new skills said they felt happier and more confident.

Last week, research by Deloitte highlighted the importance of training employees, as it found that 31 per cent of firms said lack of quality people was hindering business growth

Part of the challenge is knowing what to retrain workers for. As skills needs broaden - particularly networking and other engagement skills - it is vital to know who is best suited to what and why.

In meeting demand, ClickAJob Advertising Manager Anders Jensen sees a big increase in online testing.

We're already seeing a lot of interest in attitude and personality evaluations through our ClickATest assessment centre, he says.

Actual skills tests are also proving popular - not just to see how good people are, but where future training can best be applied.

The current economic crisis is also driving career changes, he asserts.

With a base of sharp numeric and negotiating skills, former professionals from the financial sector are beginning to realise all kinds of career possibilities with just a few tweaks to their skills repertoire, he concludes.

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