Further training is very important to local companies: 83 percent consider it important or very important (2022: 91 percent). Despite the cost pressure, 18 percent of companies plan to invest more in employee training this year than in previous years. These are the central findings of the “Further Education Barometer” of the Wifi of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WK). This survey is conducted annually by the Imas Institute.
“The key to being perceived as an attractive employer in times of labor and skilled labor shortages is clearly: further training,” said Wifi curator Markus Raml. A high level of willingness for further training is important, anything else is an alarm signal that the personnel situation will worsen further. Raml called for a state-financed education account for all employed people and an increase in funding. These steps could give continuing professional development the boost it needs.
“The personnel situation is getting worse for many companies. In view of the shortage of skilled workers and workers, we need more further training in order to train the necessary qualifications among employees,” said Mariana Kühnel, deputy general secretary of the WK. 55 percent of employees rate lifelong learning as very important. But only just under a third were able to implement the project. The costs (13 percent) and time compatibility (ten percent) are most frequently cited as challenges.
By far the most important training topics are IT and digitalization (65 percent), technology (62 percent), quality management (61 percent), sustainability (56 percent) and digital transformation (55 percent).
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