Survey finds degree still the key qualification

Citation

(2003), "Survey finds degree still the key qualification", Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 35 No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/ict.2003.03735gab.004

Survey finds degree still the key qualification

Survey finds degree still the key qualification

UK employees claim they have difficulty finding sufficient time for further study but identify electronic learning as a preferred option, according to UKeU, the UK government-backed company set up to provide online degrees from UK universities to students worldwide.

Its first annual e-learning survey shows that UK companies are not taking full advantage of their well-regarded learning programmes, despite their employees’ willingness to achieve additional qualifications. The survey also finds that a degree is still the most sought after qualification, with 71 per cent of respondents citing it as one they would want to obtain.

The survey covers attitudes to e-learning in the UK, USA, Hong Kong and Singapore. It was undertaken to investigate and promote a better understanding of employee attitudes to continuous professional development, the importance of degrees in the workplace and role that can be played by e-learning.

While there are many encouraging aspects to the findings – particularly in the high awareness of the personal and business benefits of e-learning for the development of individuals – the fact that staff in the UK cite time as the major factor which hampers learning shows that there is much more to do in restoring the life-work balance that can encourage employees to invest in their careers by achieving new qualifications.

Britain also scored comparatively badly in a number of key areas to do with employee self-motivation, the perceived importance of continuing education and the penetration of advanced communications technology.

The report shows that 69 per cent of respondents are looking to undertake a course of some sort in the next year. This varies from 61 per cent in the USA, to 64 per cent in Singapore and 70 per cent in the UK, to 78 per cent in Hong Kong. The types of courses sought by 71 per cent of respondents are those accredited to a college, university or professional institute.

The report shows that UK employees put least store in gaining further qualifications in terms of helping their careers. Only 30 per cent of UK respondents agree that this is important, compared to 46 per cent of respondents in the USA.

In general, employees in Hong Kong and Singapore appear to take greater personal responsibility for their learning and development than those in the UK and the US where, to differing degrees, the initiative is taken more by the employers.

UK employers spend more per employee than those in any other country on learning – £1,487, compared to £1,205 in the US and £1,310 in Singapore. However, 33 per cent of the total sample had not had anything spent on their training by their employer in the last 12 months.

Most respondents agreed that many more people would gain further qualifications through e-learning in the future. The survey reveals that:

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  UK employees put least store in attaining further qualifications.

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  Lack of funding is the key inhibitor to learning in all countries except the UK, where lack of time is a bigger inhibitor, with 68 per cent of employees citing it as a major problem.

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  UK degrees are looked upon very favourably compared to degrees from other countries.

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  Technology – particularly broadband – is not an issue when potential students are evaluating e-learning.

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  Blended learning – a mixture of e-learning and online studies – is popular.

John Beaumont, UKeU chief executive, said: “UKeU is working to tackle many of the opportunities that this report highlights. It is particularly worrying that UK plc. has not yet fully woken up to the fact that, to be competitive internationally, it needs an educated and skilled workforce that is kept to date with appropriate developments. This is impossible without a continuous learning process that is flexible and easy to use. We hope that this report will be a valuable addition to the debate on e-learning and will help to show its enormous potential in our knowledge-based society and economy.”