The Covid-19 crisis has blocked the number of people planning to switch jobs over the next 12 months, new research from Openwork has revealed.
According to the findings of its nationwide study, more than half (54%) of workers said they will not switch careers over the coming year, with just one in 10 saying the crisis won’t deter them from moving.
Claire Limon, director of learning and acquisition, Openwork, says: “The current economic uncertainty is definitely a deterrent to switching careers and people are understandably nervous about moving.
“But people remain very much open to the idea of a career change and the old approach of staying in one sector for your entire working life simply doesn’t apply any longer, with more of us willing to expand our skills.”
Openwork said 19% of workers aim to move into a new industry or sector in the future, rising to nearly one in three among the under-35s.
The biggest deterrents for employees in switching careers over the next five years were the cost of training and loss of income (37%) while age was cited as a factor for 36%. Economic uncertainty caused by Covid-19 was ranked third.
Among the under-35s, just over a fifth (22%) said the cost of training would prevent them from changing careers, while 27% said they were deterred by their lack of qualifications.
Limon adds: “It is interesting that the biggest deterrents to moving careers are the worry about loss of income while training and being too old – rather than economic uncertainty – and this demonstrates that organisations which want to encourage people from other industries need to provide support.
“At Openwork we believe that all ages and backgrounds have the potential to make career changes and there is support available for anyone considering a new job in the expanding sector of financial advice as demand continues to increase.”
