Why Gen-Z Wants Employers to Pay for More Skills Training

One of the most recent workplace developments has resulted from companies shifting hiring priorities from requiring applicants to have college degrees to recruiting people with specific skills and experience to fill openings instead. Apparently, workforces aren’t getting the message — or are responding in an unexpected way. New data shows many employees not only want to pursue additional degrees or vocational training, but also insist that employers support their efforts to improve their capabilities on the job.

The evolving ambitions of the U.S. workforce were captured in recent survey of 1,000 professionals by Ohio’s Youngstown State University. It’s overarching conclusion is that while many workers either are taking college courses or would like to take them, or are pursuing professional certifications or licensing programs, or skills-based training, their goals are often thwarted by financial, time, or other constraints. As part of that, nearly two-thirds of respondents said they aren’t actively supported by employers in their objectives — resulting in 34 percent of respondents saying they plan to quit their jobs within the next year in search of better growth or upskilling opportunities.

All told, 36 percent of survey participants reported they were currently enrolled in a degree program, certification course, or skills-based training. Another 35 percent said they had support through employer-provided education-related benefits or resources. That included partial or full reimbursement of costs in earning degrees, flexible work arrangements to pursue those, or paid time off to attend classes.

Still, nearly half of respondents reported their current employers didn’t provide support or offer other growth opportunities, with 71 percent specifically complaining of insufficient company backing of their further education or training. The upshot — 34 percent of participants who said they planned to quit their jobs to look for work offering more educational and skill development assistance, with another 42 percent saying they’d already done so in the past.

As often the case in today’s workplace, Gen Zers offered the most vivid example of current employee expectations — and disappointment when those are frustrated.

True to their reputation of placing self-improvement as a top priority, members of the cohort born between 1997 and 2012 expressed the strongest desire for various forms of upskilling. Gen Zers also led all other workplace age groups saying they were enrolled in continuing education programs, with a 43 percent participation rate.

Yet 86 percent of those younger workers said they wouldn’t make that effort unless employers financed at least part of it, with 76 percent citing the costs of those programs as the main obstacle to their career growth. As a result, 46 percent of Gen Z participants reported they were ready to quit their jobs, citing better professional growth opportunities, not higher pay, as their reason.

Those situations and sentiments were also reflected at somewhat lesser degrees by Millennial, Gen X, and Baby Boom employee age cohorts. Large minorities of each cohort similarly expressed interest in, or even insisting on improving their work capabilities by earning degrees or learning new skills. Likewise, those saying they’d been unable to fulfill those ambitions cited the same lack of supportive employer financing programs, insufficient time or job flexibility, or burnout as Gen Zers.

So what does all that mean for business owners?

With companies increasingly prioritizing skills and work experience over degrees in hiring people, it’s only logical many workers are now noticing and responding to that by trying to improve their own abilities and performance on the job.

But with over a third of survey respondents saying they’d rather face today’s tight labor market to look for new work than remain stuck where they are, companies would be wise to be more attentive to and supportive of those ambitions — or risk finding themselves having to recruit far more than they’d like to.

“While professionals are eager to keep learning, many feel held back by barriers like time and cost,” the Youngstown State report on the findings concluded. “With only a third of workers saying their employer actively supports education, organizations face a real opportunity. Investing in employee growth could directly impact worker engagement and retention. For workers, finding a balance between career advancement and life responsibilities remains both a challenge and a priority.”