Intelligent CXO Issue 11 | Page 18

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One in six workers are retrained and ready for new careers

A new survey has revealed that nearly one in six ( 15 %) employees working in the UK have already retrained for a new role or profession . Their current employers just don ’ t know it yet .

HR software provider CIPHR polled over 1,000 workers to find out how many people have retrained and made a career shift since the start of the pandemic . The findings suggest that nearly one in three ( 30 %) have either already retrained and changed the industry they work in or have paved the way to do so by upskilling and retraining .
Senior managers seem the most open to pursuing different career paths , with one in four ( 26 %) high earners having already retrained and made a change . A further 27 % have retrained but have yet to start their new line of work . In comparison , just a quarter ( 23 %) of non-managerial staff have retrained ( 10 %) or retrained and made a career change ( 13 %) during this time .
Perhaps unsurprisingly , age does have a significant bearing on the results . Only one in 10 ( 9 %) survey respondents over 45 retrained and changed careers during the pandemic , compared to around one in five ( 18 %) 25-to-44-year-olds and nearly a third ( 31 %) of 18-to-24-year-olds . Notably , a quarter ( 23 %) of the over 55s who had to retrain , or change careers , did so because they were made redundant , twice the number ( 12 %) of 18-to-54-year-olds .
There ’ s no doubt that the pandemic has impacted people ’ s career aspirations and flipped many long-standing work-life priorities around . Over a quarter ( 28 %) of those who say they ’ ve retrained ( and / or changed their career ) did so either as a direct result of the pandemic ( 13 %), after being furloughed ( 12 %) or being made redundant ( 10 %). But even then , people rarely cite just one single reason for wanting to change or retrain into a new career – there ’ s a variety of factors at play .
For the majority ( 33 %) of workers , earning more money and upskilling are the two most important drivers for career retraining . Followed by improving work-life balance ( 26 %), enjoying a more meaningful career ( 23 %), feeling more valued at work ( 21 %) and reducing work-related stress ( 21 %).
Other career change motivators include concerns about a lack of career advancement ( 18 %), wanting to ‘ follow their passion ’ ( 18 %),
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