21^st April, 88% of workers in India, expect to continue learning and training throughout their career to stay relevant and attractive to employers, a new Pearson Skills Outlook report themed ‘Employee View’ has revealed. The report, second in the Skills Outlook series, highlights the shift in the attitude of the workforce towards upskilling, as they expect and explore learning and development, for their entire lifetime. A majority of the respondents who participated in the survey for the report, believe that learning a new language, specifically English, would help them advance in their careers.

The report, which polled 4,000 people in four countries (US, UK, India, and Brazil) to see what skills they were prioritizing for their career development, illustrated that across markets, short courses, employer-sponsored training, and university degrees are seen as the most needed, to move up from current positions. This was seen to be true especially in India, with Certifications from professional organizations (34%) and from platforms (34%) being the top two types of education felt needed to advance their careers. This illustrates that employers offering certifications are also seen as more attractive to the working populace.

Nearly 9-in-10 (88%) Indian workers expect to continue learning throughout their careers to stay up to date. More than half (75%) of Indian respondents stated that their employers offer skilling as a benefit, and of those workers offered the benefit, nearly 9-in-10 (92%) take advantage. Education Future Interest for workers across demographics shows a preference for Short Courses (80%), Language learning programs (83%), and Credentials / Badges (75%). Employers are therefore more likely to begin offering more courses as benefits in the workplace.

Across all generations in the US, UK, and India, human skills such as decision-making and problem-solving dominate the top skills felt needed for career advancement and skills currently being developed. In India, technical skills like AI/ML, data processing, and coding are also priorities across age groups, specifically when considering skills of the future. When looking at top human skills of future interest, language skills rank top for Gen Z Indian workers. Improving English is emerging as a key skill for employees to advance in their careers, according to 85% of Indians.

The report also found that while millennials and Gen X workers exhibited positive sentiments towards their current career growth, 88% of Gen Z had to rethink their career path due to the uncertainties of the last three years. Gen Z workers were also less likely to feel optimistic about the state of the job market compared to Millennials and more likely to be actively seeking a new job compared to Gen X.

“Today, the success of any modern organization depends on the success of its workforce. However, there is a persistent skills gap across industries and markets which has a direct impact on productivity, business growth and innovation. With the proliferation of Internet and emergence of new technologies such as AI/ML and data science, the workforce has to not only learn new technical skills but also human skills, which will make their work more effective. The Skills Outlook Report, clearly brings out the fact that the Indian workers are well aware about their upskilling imperatives and are looking for trustworthy avenues of learning and development.

 At Pearson, it is our mission to fuel the learning journey of the workforce, by providing them access to online English language learning tools, short courses and digital certifications across a wide portfolio of courses ranging from high-tech to sports.” said Michael Howells, President, Workforce Skills, Pearson.

Pearson’s Skills Outlook series provides vital insight into the immediate needs of the modern workforce, to help employers and employees stay current on upskilling trends and adapt to a tech-focused world. While the first Skills Outlook report examined the most in-demand skills from an employer’s perspective, this second study, Employee View, looks at skilling through an employee’s lens.

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