Australia lagging behind other countries when it comes to improving skills in the workplace

Australian workplaces are falling well behind the rest of the worldAs employers look to cut costs and staff now too time poor to seek opportunities, according to a new report.

Participants use virtual reality technology at Swinburne’s Factory of the Future. Picture: Supplied

Australian workplaces are falling well behind the rest of the world when it comes to on-the-job training.

As employers look to cut costs and staff now too time poor to seek upskilling opportunities, workplace training is increasingly falling by the wayside, according to data compiled by the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA).

In stark contrast to the global trend where training has increased, CEDA found participation in Aussie workplaces has dropped 14 per cent since 2007, falling in 17 of 19 industries.

That decline comes despite workers’ incomes being proven to increase up to 20 per cent in the year after they had upskilled.

While unsurprised by CEDA’s findings, Swinburne Edge executive director Louise Robinson hopes it serves as a call to action for the Federal Government and businesses to invest in better and more effective workforce training.

Swinburne Edge is offering short courses across business, communication finance and leadership.

“It’s a wakeup call for Australia,” she said while insisting that underinvestment in training risks a widening skills gap, reduced productivity and stalled innovation.

“I think we’re all being slammed, particularly post Covid. And there is an expectation that employees will pick certain things up and employers will cut down on the training.”

Swinburne Edge hosts short courses in everything from business and communication skills to finance and leadership, giving Ms Robinson key insights into the need for “lifelong learning” at work.

Accepting that many have negative attitudes towards training because it felt irrelevant or too much to take on in addition to their existing work commitments and family demands, Ms Robinson said cultural attitudes needed to be addressed by employers.

“It shouldn’t be seen as a punishment,” Ms Robinson insisted.

“And employers need to identify and address barriers to learning such as overwork, fatigue, culture and, of course, salary.”

While incentivised learning schemes could help shift negative mindsets, Ms Robinson believed no longer taking a “one size fits all” approach to upskilling staff would have the greatest impact.

Ms Robinson said workplace mapping could help businesses better tailor their training programs to suit individual needs.

And that would mean training could be a speedy online tutorial or a more intensive, off-site course designed to prepare staff for leadership roles, Ms Robinson explained.

“If you have a Strategic Workforce Plan, you can identify the skills gaps and the skills needs and send people to appropriate training,” she explained.

“Rather than saying: ‘Off you go. You all have to do this course’.”

Swinburne Edge executive director Louise Robinson.

In sectors where there are limited budgets for training, Ms Robinson has called on government and private sectors step in to fund the shortfall arguing that the investment would have far-reaching benefits for productivity.

The CEDA report showed clear benefits to both employers and employees who invest the time and money in training.

Workplace training led to increased earnings, improved staff retention and a greater capacity to upskill into new fields.

CEDA’s head of research Andrew Barker said, put simply, training led to a happier workforce.

“For employers, greater staff satisfaction and engagement are associated with higher productivity,” he said.

“Given the need to lift Australia’s productivity performance, increasing training should be a focus for employers and policymakers.”

Tech has left us feeling nervous

More than half the Australian workforce feels overwhelmed and confused by the changes to their industry, according to data compiled by the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA).

A lot of the swirling trepidation is due to the impact and evolution of technology, which is constantly reshaping how people do their jobs.

And without continuous reskilling, Swinburne Edge executive director Louise Robinson pointed out that workers could be left frustrated and floundering.

“We constantly have to upskill, and we [at Swinburne Edge] focus, quite importantly on job seekers and early school leavers, and if you tie that with the Future for Young Australians reports where they have to have something like 17 careers — not jobs — so they’re going to be juggling all sorts of careers,” she explains.

“And all our roles have changed endlessly. So, what my role is, is substantially different to 10 years ago. So, I think the future is constantly upskilling.”

Workers could be left frustrated and floundering by technology, according to Swinburne Edge executive director Louise Robinson.

Demystifying and harnessing the power of AI, are key areas of learning that Swinburne Edge is increasingly called upon to provide workshops in.

“Because I think everyone recognises they have to, in some shape or form, engage with AI now (some sectors more than others),” she said.

“Leadership is also important because we’re dealing with hybrid workplaces, we’re dealing with people using AI where skill sets keep changing.

“We’re adopting technology at rapid rates of knots, so we need leadership capability to manage and juggle all of these new things coming through.”

Earlier this year, Swinburne Edge ran two AI Play: unlock the power of generative AI workshops for 29 employees.

Over two targeted sessions, participants were shown how to use AI to problem solve and navigate basic features of generative AI and left the workshop more confident in using the tool to their advantage in the future.

Originally published as Australia lagging behind other countries when it comes to improving skills in the workplace