This educational and practical journey has evolved greatly over the years, with processes steadily improving across the industry to ensure that people of all levels continue to receive the training and support they need to further develop a range of skills that can benefit them and the business.
It’s also interesting to see how the younger generation of the current workforce views this area. Research released towards the back end of 2023, conducted by Cloud Assess, revealed that Gen Z and millennials are prioritising training and development more than any other generation.
In fact, more than a quarter of employees aged between 16-34 believe training and development is the most important factor when it comes to their engagement as an employee.
This offers a clear sign that the workforce of the future values ‘being better’ over monetary incentives, and when looking to induct new talent into the industry, firms would be wise not to ignore these rising demands.
Technology will obviously play a key role within this, although there is a balance to be maintained as this tech focus should not come at the detriment of people-centred learning.
For those operating in a more specialist area, this means that training should be tailored appropriately to arm individuals with the necessary tools to fulfil their potential from both a tech and personal development standpoint.
Putting it into practice
Here at Countrywide Surveying Services (CSS), March represents a busy month for the business and our people with a number of events enabling us to come together for various causes.
The first being a Development Day, which presented an opportunity for those wishing to consider progressing their careers within the people management space. The day involved a variety of different events to include presentation skills, which tests participants’ ability to be able to perform at short notice in front of an unfamiliar audience, a debating session on a topic where they are either asked to be for, or against the subject matter.
In addition to that, survival skills were tested, and finally there was a hands-on challenge involving eggs, which I will leave to your imagination, and they weren’t of the chocolate variety.
Leadership development within our business and succession planning is a core component that we hold in extremely high regard. Given we are a remote workforce, it can be difficult to get to know individuals and understand what range of talent we have within the business, so these days are particularly important.
Days like these allow us to assess a variety of skills and characteristics. On the back of this, each individual participant is provided with a personalised development plan based on supporting and encouraging further growth and experience within the business.
People will always be a key component in any successful business. This means that continual investment from a training, learning and development perspective in existing members of the workforce should remain a priority, even in the most challenging of times.
After all, everyone deserves the opportunity to further their careers if they are willing to put in the work.
