Gen Z workers want more training, says Open University

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The Open University have said that there is a disconnect between employers and employees across Wales. More than half of companies and employers say that young people in particular are not work ready, and there is a ‘skills gap’, Gen Z have said that they want training to find work in the places most in demand.

Transcript

00:00The findings are similar to what we found in previous years, really.

00:04A lot of employers are telling us that there's a skills gap.

00:07Employers and employers aren't always on the same page.

00:10That's no secret.

00:11The Open University says that according to their recent report,

00:14the gap could be bigger than people first thought.

00:17The world is changing quickly.

00:19There are jobs that people had even five years ago that don't exist anymore

00:22and jobs that have only sprung up in recent years.

00:25Young people are facing that change in market

00:27and Rodri from The Open University says that while employees

00:30don't think young people are work ready,

00:33those same young people want to be offered training

00:35and find roles that are most in need.

00:38Justin The Half actually told us that they feel that there is a lack

00:41of work readiness among younger generations.

00:44Now, interestingly, talking to people in that generation said bracket,

00:50we found that wasn't the case.

00:51We found actually that, you know, you've got young people

00:53who were really chomping at the bit to get into different industries,

00:57to get into different areas of work.

01:00And I think it was just over three quarters of them

01:04were actually saying that they're looking at careers

01:07where skills are in demand.

01:10Of course, when it comes to so-called skills gaps,

01:13it's the modern technology sectors that are most affected.

01:16And Wales has a booming tech industry.

01:18Think AI and other recent advancements

01:20that are quickly becoming a part of our everyday lives.

01:22But realistically, training in those fields

01:25will be in their infancy.

01:26So Rodri says that that should be a focus for employers.

01:30One of the areas is AI because it's an emerging technology.

01:34It's certainly not something everyone's fluent in

01:37versus, again, you know, what younger people are telling us

01:41and perhaps more of those are learning those skills more natively.

01:46And actually, we found that to be true.

01:50We've got, you know, just in the half of people saying

01:52that they are using AI regularly in their work

01:54or they've got an interest in AI.

01:56And then you've got employers telling us

01:58that they can't, you know, fill those, fill that skill set.

02:02But not just AI, issues like sustainability,

02:05other digital skills.

02:07It's a decision that firms have to make every so often.

02:10Is it better to outsource skilled workers

02:12or train from within?

02:13Rodri says that it's important to do what you can

02:16to train existing employees

02:17and train more people in different fields

02:19because he says, ultimately, it's good for business.

02:22There's going to be mixed experiences

02:24across employers and organisations of training.

02:28But it's one of the things that we've always said

02:29is that, you know, recruitment costs a lot of money.

02:33It takes a lot of time.

02:34And one of the things that employers can do

02:36is to invest in their own people,

02:38is to actually look at,

02:40rather than getting new people in,

02:42reskilling or upskilling their existing staff.

02:45Now, there's several ways to do that.

02:47And, you know, you can think about it

02:48on an individual basis.

02:50But also one of the things that, you know,

02:52we're encouraging employers to think about

02:54is putting together a skills development plan

02:56for their organisation

02:57so you can think about it more strategically.

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