Survey Says: Some Workers Willing to Pay for Training

Today’s Advisor reports on the results of a recent survey on the value of training in the workplace.

Conducted by Mindflash, the survey on employer training trends in the United States reported that most of the 200 survey participants believe that training improves their job performance.

In fact, nearly 58 percent of the surveyed 18- to 60-year-olds indicated that training was helping them do their jobs much better, while about 38 percent said training at work improved their performance “a little.” Close to 11 percent did not see the benefit of job training, saying it would not help them do their jobs better.

Nearly 67 percent reported that receiving even more training would provide additional on-the-job benefits. And about two-thirds of survey participants said they would be willing to take training courses outside of working hours.

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“Our latest survey shows that employers and employees believe in the value of training and are seeing concrete results from participating in training on-the-job,” said Randhir Vieira, Mindflash’s vice president of Product and Marketing. “With expectations rising all the time for companies to take advantage of new technologies, meet compliance requirements, and address changing customer expectations, it’s no surprise that training is gaining more clout as a tactic to stay competitive.”

Mindflash also found that more than 70 percent of survey participants indicated that their employers consider training to be important, but only 38 percent of respondents said they received at least 20 hours of training in the past year. Fourteen percent reported that their employers did not offer any training during that time frame.

Some employees apparently believe so strongly in the benefits of work-related training that they would be willing to pay for it themselves. More than 12 percent of survey respondents indicated that they would pay their employers to provide extra training. How much would they be willing to pay? More than 70 percent said they would spend up to $1,000 out of pocket to receive more training.

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Survey Takeaways

Ongoing learning and development help companies remain competitive and serve as an effective recruitment tool. Learners are likely to find more value in training when it is focused and they understand how it pertains specifically to them. Finally, if you offer training outside of employees’ normal working hours, remember that you might still be obligated to compensate them for their time.

Why It Matters

• This survey shows that training is important to the majority of employees.
• So much so that many employees are willing to receive training outside of work hours—and some would even pay for it.
• Continue to assess your training program to ensure that it is not only meeting your employees’ safety requirements but also is matching their desire to do their jobs more safely and more proficiently.