- A third of the U.S. workforce doesn’t feel qualified for their job
- Over half of U.S. employees have a colleague they feel isn’t qualified for their job
- One in three employees turn to Google or YouTube for help, rather than ask a coworker
When it comes to job training, employees are feeling underqualified and unsupported. That’s according to the ‘Fake It Til’ You Make It’ survey report released by Docebo, an online learning management provider. The company surveyed 2,400 employed adults in the U.S. and UK to understand how confident and qualified they feel in their current roles and how on-the-job training impacts the decisions they make at work.
Overall, employees across both countries don’t feel qualified for their jobs. One in three (32 percent) in the U.S and UK admit they’ve felt unqualified for their job, and another 33 percent fear that a boss or colleague thinks the same. Workers also have little faith in their colleagues’ performance with over half (52 percent) in both countries saying they have a colleague who isn’t qualified for their job. These fears impact workers’ well-being, with one in four (23 percent) fearing they may be let go from their job at least once a month because of a lack of skills.
This feeling of under-qualification is caused by poor on-the-job training. One in three (35 percent) consumers say their employer’s training is out-of-date with Brits (38 percent) even more likely than Americans (33 percent) to say that training doesn’t meet their expectations. Poor training is also pushing more employees to go to Google for help with 37 percent preferring to search on Google or YouTube for a solution, rather than ask a coworker.
Additional report findings show:
- Training impacts workplace happiness and retention. The majority (59 percent) of the U.S. and UK workforces say learning opportunities impact their workplace happiness. This is especially the case in the U.S. where 32 percent find learning opportunities critical to workplace happiness, compared to 27 percent of Brits. Opportunities to learn and grow are so critical that 36 percent respondents in both countries – and half (48 percent) of all Millennials – say they would quit a job due to a lack of learning opportunities.
- Americans are less likely to bluff a resume to get the job. On average, today’s workforce is open to asking for help. In fact, 65 percent have admitted to their boss that they didn’t understand an assignment or concept. However, employees admit that they still lie at times, especially when it comes to padding their resume to land a job. One in five (20 percent) admit they have lied about their experience to get a job, a trend that happens more in the UK (22 percent) than in the U.S. (18 percent). British Millennials are also more likely to lie (24 percent), than American Millennials (20 percent).
- Video training is the preferred method in the U.S. When asked how they prefer to learn, only 13 percent opt to read training documents, while 17 percent look for training videos. Video is most widely preferred in the U.S. where one in five (20 percent) express interest in training videos, compared to one in seven (15 percent) in the UK.
For more additional information from the ‘Fake It Til’ You Make It’ report, you can view the entire report.