Classroom or offiCe?The best ways to up-skill and increase employability

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Having a degree doesn’t guarantee you a job in your chosen field, and the cost of attaining one is growing. However, recent OECD data shows that having any degree at all increases your overall employability:

around 85% of the population with higher/tertiary education is employed, yet this figure is just 76% for people with post-secondary/non-tertiary education, and just 56% for those without an upper-secondary education.

However, in terms of your earning potential, are two degrees better than one? Is a PhD better than a Master’s? Does it really matter which university you attend?

The question many employees want to know is, “When do you hit the cost-benefit ceiling regarding your education?” At what point should you forget about more education and focus on gaining more practical experience? Or should you expect that you will always need do both?

Here, we look at the pros and cons of on-the-job versus formal training, and what the best strategies for improving your career prospects really are.

How muCH eduCation is enougH?

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One in four 21-year-old graduatesare unemployed.Office for National Statistics, UK

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eduCation and tHe supply-demand CurveAmong 25- to 29-year-old graduates in the European Union, unemployment rose from 7% to 9.2% between 2008 and 2011. While this was a large increase, the outlook was much worse for young people with only basic education—unemployment rose from 16.1% to 24.3%. Statistics like this remind us that higher education does:

1. Increase the likelihood of finding a job

2. Decrease the likelihood of being outsourced or laid-off during downturn or market volatility

However, rising tuition fees across much of the western world makes the economic benefits of gaining a degree in the traditional full-time/three-year timeframe harder to support, particularly given a Bachelor degree doesn’t guarantee you a job (and hasn’t for quite some time now).

The first step in the right direction is to look at the data on employment prospects of each degree. Gaining the right skills—those in highest demand—is as important as gaining the right level of qualification from the right institution.

different degree, different employment prospects:

data from unistats shows that the following proportions of graduates secure a job related to their studies within six months: 51% of graduates with a business administration degree 78% of those with a civil engineering degree 73% of those with a computer science degree.

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To 10 University degrees for securing a job(% of graduates 2010-11 that either found a job or entered further educationwithin 6 months of completing their first degree)

99.4% 94.8% 94% 91.9% 91.3% 90.9% 90.3% 90.1% 89.9% 89.9%

Medicine, dentistry

& vet science

Education

Subjects allie

d

to medicine, including

neurology and

biomedical science

Law

Agriculture

(and related subjects)

Biological sciences

Languages

Historical

& philosophical studies

Mathematical sciences

Physical sciences

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How qualified sHould you be?As the list on the previous page shows, those degrees with the highest employment rates also tend to requiremore post-graduate study. Just how qualified you need to be to get a great job will depend upon:

your age and stage of career: the younger and less experienced you are, the more doors that highereducation will open.

your field of study/expertise: If you’re in one of the Scientific, Technology, Engineering or Mathematic fields in particular, a good degree with more post-graduate study will give you better employment prospects.

your management/leadership ambitions: again, depending on the field you’re in and the size oforganisation you work for, work experience may be more valuable than extra qualifications. However, if you want a leadership role when you’re still relatively inexperienced, or you wish to change industrieswithout taking a step backwards, you may need to prove you have the management theory behind you first.

Either way, the strongest trend seems to be that workers are taking greater control of their own careerdevelopment. According to the 2013 Kelly Global Workforce Index, over 60% of workers are either activelypursuing education/training for a new field of work (23%) or are considering doing so (38%).

Typically, the older we are, the more we will look for on-the-job opportunities for training and development.

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Which of the following methods is most desirable to you in terms of your skill development?*

The top way managers can improve job satisfaction is: to provide training opportunities (53%).

70% 58% 31% 26% 19% 19% 18% 16% 2%

On the job experience

Continued education/

trainingProfessio

nal

certification

Seminars/webinars

Structured mentoring

Special/stretch/

rotational assignments

Job sharing

Professional organisation

membership Other

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tHe rise of tHe mbaThey’ve been around in Europe since the 1950s, and in the U.S. for quite a lot longer, but holders of a Masters of Business Administration qualification have grown significantly in recent decades. For some organisations, holding an MBA is now a pre-requisite for an interview. Two trends in this qualification are occurring:

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1 MBA holders are getting younger: The average age of a full-time MBA student at Harvard Business School is just 27 years of age, and many schools in the U.S have an even younger student profile for MBA courses. Typically, upwards of 80% of students within the programs are younger than 30 years of age. Statistics for the London Business School MBA reveals that students, on average, have just 5.5 years of work experience.

Hiring intentions for MBA holders in growth sectors is increasing:The Wall Street Journal’s recent article on the rate of growth for MBAs seems to point to uneven hiring intentions. The technology and energy sectors far outpace financial services (and even consulting) in their intentions to hire MBA graduates. In fact, the number of tech companies planning to hire MBAs rose 22% between 2011 and 2012, and in particular, demand for students with quantitative skills who can analyse user data and apply it to strategic expansion and marketing plans is on the up and up. Yet, demand seems to be virtually flat from the financial services sector.

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tHe rise of tHe mba percentage of companies that hired/plan to hire new m.b.a. employees

2008: 59%

2009: 50%

2010: 62%

2011: 72%

2012: 79%* * planned hires

Source: Graduate Management Admission Council (survey of more than 800 companies worldwide) & the Wall Street Journal

statistics like these indicate that:

Growth industries may look for MBAs as a way of determining leadership ability in an inexperienced talent pool: there may be greater benefit in gaining an MBA if you plan to work in growth industries such as technology and sciences. This is because employers will be more likely to be hiring in a tight talent market, and will look for skilled (although not necessarily experienced) managers to lead their growth trajectory. Sometimes, an MBA may be the only way to determine who these candidates are. The cost of MBAs means younger students gain the greatest ROI: Given that MBAs can cost up to 75,000 EUR, gaining them later in life leaves fewer working years to pay back the investment.

Whether or not an MBA improves the salaries and employability of already experienced talent is difficult to conclude. Research on MBA salaries shows that, on average, MBA programs do lead to higher salaries for graduates. Yet, these qualifications are hard to justify for older, more experienced candidates. If fast, early promotion is your goal and you have the time, resources and aptitude to study at a great school with a good reputation, an MBA will probably pay off.

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demonstrate your soft skillsIt’s not only the economic trends within a single country that will shape the careers of the future, but the trends of other nations operating on the world stage as well. This economic shift is something critical for prospective employees to understand because the barriers to virtual working are diminishing every day, meaning both employee and employer can cast their net for skills much, much wider.

In the globalised employment market, differentiation is key. If your skillset is easily outsourced or commoditised, your employmentprospects will be diminished. So, to be marketable and attractive to corporates and outsourcing firms that will help you access these networks, you need to know that you’re offering what employers want.

our research shows that these ‘soft’ skills feature prominently in workers’ toolkits:

77% 72% 69% 70% Cooperation/ Active listening Verbal Organisation/attention teamwork communication to detail

How you demonstrate your application of these skills in your chosen industry is important. Look for ways to demonstrate your soft skills in ways might help you stand out from the crowd such as: Leading online working groups and think-tanks such as LinkedIn Groups in your field can prove you have cooperation/teamwork skills. If the Group is successful and influential, it’s proof that you’re able to connect the right people together, stimulate discussion and share knowledge. Host webcasts or speak at events in your field to demonstrate your verbal communication and presentation skills.

our research also shows that the skills workers are most likely to say need further development are:

64% 41% 37% Bilingual Leadership/ Creativity/ skills initiative innovation

If you can prove you have these in both online and offline environments, you are already on the way to differentiating yourself from others with similar qualifications.

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ConClusionMore education improves your employment prospects—that much is true. However, weighing up the return on investment for every qualification you gain is becoming more important as people change careers, job tenure shortens and the need to gain new skills never ceases.

As workers move through their career, the more difficult it becomes to gain specific skills in formal settings in cost- effective ways. That’s why organisations and the people who work for them must make informed decisions about how they gain skills that increase their employability and productivity. They must know the supply-demand dynamics for the market they operate in, and they must look for creative but relevant ways to differentiate themselves from other candidates.

Knowing your career goals, what you expect to gain out of each new skill you attain, and planning these outcomes upfront will ensure you can make the right decisions for yourself.

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Crowdsourcing through kelly experts:

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kelly promiseYou’re unique and you’re different, it’s what makes you, you! At Kelly we understand that not everybody wants the same thing out of their work. Whether you’re just starting your career or have many years of experience behind you, we are committed to helping you find a role that’s just right for you. Every person’s path has its own twists and turns and in this new world of work, it can be tricky to navigate through. You can find useful DIY career information at www.kellyservices.com and when you decide to contact us directly, we’ll work together with your passion and expertise to guide you to your next challenge. Whether this may be in the flexible and temporary workforce or as a permanent employee, Kelly is here to help every step of the way.

kelly facts Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: KELYA, KELYB) is a leader in providing workforce solutions. Kelly® offers a comprehensive array of outsourcing and consulting services as well as world-class staffing on a temporary, temporary-to-hire and direct-hire basis. Serving clients around the globe, Kelly provides employment to more than 550,000 employees annually. Revenue in 2011 was $5.6 billion. Visit our website and connect with us on Facebook, LinkedIn & Twitter.

stefan renzewitz

Stefan is the Operations Lead for Talent Sourcing in the DACH region. He has strong experience in Career Event, Employer Branding and Talent Relationship solutions including campaign planning and execution with a focus on graduates and young professionals (Business, Engineers and IT).

sally Hunter

As RPO Practice Lead EMEA for the Kelly Outsourcing & Consulting Group, Sally is responsible for the RPO proposition from client relationships via the account manage-ment team to consulting on HR transformation. Sally has extensive experience in the human capital sec-tor, including leadership positions within strategic account management for staffing providers to operational delivery.

bence bak

Bence Bak is EMEA Sourcing Manager. Bence has 4 years experience in both researching and sourcing for different levels of candidates in the IT industry. Currently responsible for training and maintaining the knowledge base for different stakeholders, creating new standards and processes around proactive search and implementing a new international IT system.

lauren Clovis

Lauren is EMEA Marketing Manager, focussing on employer branding, candidate communications and events organisation. With a strong background in finance recruitment and a history of working on client premises to deliver contingent workforce solutions, Lauren’s experience focuses on both B2B and B2C audiences.

astrid akse

Astrid is HR Manager EMEA at Kelly Services. Having worked for several years within recruitment leadership roles, Astrid is now responsible for HR across the EMEA region. Astrid has an international outlook and her current role focuses on internal recruitment amongst other responsibilities.

stefano giorgetti

Stefano is the Managing Director and Vice President of Kelly Services in Italy. He has a strong history of working within the recruitment industry and is currently an innovation champion for Kelly focusing on improving the candidate and customer experience.