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According to a new report, two in three (65.6 percent) candidates are actively looking for new employment as a result of being “unmotivated” in their current positions.

This is because some employees claim that additional training opportunities would prevent them from leaving a job.

Aspire’s survey of over 900 job seekers also found that 77% of employees have applied for a new position while they are employed, and 62% of these employees have interviewed for a new position.

However, 44% of respondents stated that they would stay motivated and not leave if there were more opportunities for training and development.

Consequently, People Management inquires with recruiters and training specialists regarding the legitimacy of L&D’s role in employee motivation and retention.

Can learning halt someone’s departure?
In addition, the Aspire study reveals that half of employees (52.2%) want regular pay reviews, 43.5 percent want more benefits like more annual leave, and 42.3 percent would continue with more flexible working arrangements.

Therefore, would excellent opportunities for skill development be sufficient to entice someone to remain? Yes, in some ways, but if anyone wants to leave, they will; However, the more significant query is, “Why are they going?” Is it about the current opportunities in L&D, or are they just trying to switch careers?

The Secretary of State for Education is under scrutiny at the moment over plans to scrap the current BTEC qualifications, letters have been sent by hundreds of school and college leaders, urging her to delay her proposals by a further 12 months.

Currently, the proposed plans to introduce brand new qualifications from September 2025 mean the current BTEC grade will be obsolete but many School Governors, Academy chief Executives and College principles don’t agree that this is sufficient time to properly prepare students for the change. They have requested a delay until September 2026 so that they can then ensure both students are on the correct courses and teachers are rightly placed with the correct training. The Leaders wrote “reversing the plan to scrap BTECs would ensure that many of our students are not left without a viable pathway to higher education or skilled employment at the age of 16″.

Now there is very little optimism that the Government will actually listen and take note of the valid concerns of the teaching staff therefore leaves some education givers worried that it will be a confusing and unstructured period for all involved.

The very real concern over these changes comes from the fact that the BTECS are an entry into higher education or skilled employment for students that may not have achieved suitable GCSE results for other qualifications. Its a sad truth that many of the students affected will be from disadvantaged backgrounds making this strategy and its timeline detrimental to both society and the economy.

At a crucial time of change for our young adults should there really be such conflictions over the education system and how it works or should the Government consider the experience and expertise of our education givers and listen to their advice and warnings.

As I said, it’s looking very likely that these changes will come into force at the planned timeframe I just hope enough Government support is given to our Colleges at Academies to fully prepare both staff and student.

In 2017 the Government set up a scheme called the Apprenticeship Levy which enables companies to offer more people opportunities by way of an apprenticeship. This scheme is funded by larger companies of payroll exceeding £3million they pay a tax of 0.5% into the scheme and this is then distributed out allowing smaller businesses the funding necessary to take on people who need training to upskill for specific job roles.

Companies with wage bills less than the £3million threshold are exempt from paying into the levy but can obtain the funding for up to 10 employees to come into the company learn the job as an apprentice and the Government will pay 95% of the wage.

This focus on raising the profile of Apprenticeships really does a great deal for the economy it encourages company growth but also increases employment growth in the UK.

At Juniper we offer over 50 different apprenticeship opportunities in many sectors  and these are a major stepping stone onto the career path of your choice. Training is on the job with experts in field and both personal and professional development are supported and strengthened allowing you to reach your full potential.

We are pleased to share the success story of 2 of our apprentices Twin sisters Sophie and Hannah Keeling started their Business Administrator Level 3 with us in 2021 and have since become an integral part of our team here at Juniper. Using the transferable skills that they developed with us they have successfully completed their apprenticeship. Now Sophie who has a keen interest in Finance and HR while Hannah is currently training to become one of own apprenticeship recruitment consultants they both are an example of just how valuable workplace training and development is.

Companies being able to offer these opportunities as the funding is there for them really does put back into the economy full circle. Companies are now in the best position to expand, grow and develop their workforce while more people are able to go into employment by way of training for position they may never have seemed possible.

At Juniper we understand that in more recent times careers in the sports industry are more desirable than ever. Possibly due to social media being flooded with sports personalities and lifestyle “influencers” our 16 plus students are more attracted than ever to a career within the industry.

We pride ourselves on the career opportunities we can offer within sports and we encourage our learners to aim high from the start. We do this by working on confidence with in the person building this with close guidance from industry experts.

We provide well balanced study programmes that combine both academic work with real world experience in the workplace to ensure our learners are equipped with the best knowledge, understanding and experience in their chosen field. We understand that not all knowledge is found in books and exams real hands-on experience builds memorable knowledge and confidence.

Through our programme and support our learners will gather skills and information from real mentors and experts enabling them to make career decisions allowing them to own the path of their future.

Our 16 plus sports education provision is RPA compliant meaning it is recognised as further education for our learners.