More workers seek to boost career skills: poll

The survey of 1,092 workers found that 93 percent want to boost their skill set, suggesting that the stagnating economy has lit a fire under workers' bellies, according to the job bank's deputy general manager, Henry Ho.

Instead of fretting over the dwindling job market, Ho said, workers should use the opportunity to hone their skills to perform better and to prevent themselves from being benched in their career field.

With the unemployment rate of those with a bachelor's degree or above at a high 5.48 percent, 1111 Job Bank stated that a degree is increasingly irrelevant for a career as compared to the actual skills and practical experience of its holder.

Among those who were polled, the three most popular training courses that workers hoped their companies would provide were professional knowledge classes (48.72 percent), vocational skills-related courses (44.87 percent) and communication skills (31.41 percent).

This suggests a changing mindset, according to corporate lecturer Hung Ming-fu (洪明甫), who said that courses focusing on communication, time management or stress-relief techniques usually receive a lot more applicants than those teaching professional skills.

Hung explained that since workers should already have acquired sufficient abilities related to their work field, many hope to become more capable of communicating with others or handling their own stress.

Another corporate expert, Cheng Yun-lung (鄭雲龍), noted that employers are more aware of workers' emotional needs than a decade ago, as there personal situation influences the company's atmosphere and thus affects employees' performance.

The poll also revealed that of those who chose to hone their abilities, whether it be taking training courses or through self-learning, 48 percent have found it “generally useful” while 13.64 percent said it was “very useful.”

Ho suggested that those who were looking to increase their employability should thoroughly research what sort of courses and what kinds of certifications would help them most in their profession.

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