Some 40 per cent of blue-collar workers had access to employer-provided training programmes in 2016, according to the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions.
The Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) has expressed its concerns about an apparent the availability of employer-provided training and development opportunities.
SAK highlights in a press release that the percentage of its members in blue-collar jobs with access to employer-provided training and development programmes has dropped from 50 to 40 in no more than two years.
“The situation at workplaces has clearly deteriorated,” concludes Juha Antila, the development manager at SAK.
He reminds that blue-collar workers have traditionally had fewer training and development opportunities than white-collar workers.
“Junior and senior white-collar workers are being trained at workplaces, but not blue-collar workers. The trend is evident from the adult education study conducted by Statistics Finland in 2012. A white-collar worker has access to training two times and senior white-collar workers almost three times as often as workers,” says Antila.
He also expresses his bafflement with the failure of businesses to recognise the significance of developing the occupational skills of blue-collar workers, despite the fact that all employees contribute to the productivity of a business.
“Productivity is created at every level of businesses, from management to manual workers. Education is important to everyone,” he says.
SAK's biennial survey of workplace conditions also identified a new trend: employees in the youngest and oldest age groups are less likely to participate in employer-provided training than their middle-aged colleagues.
“The dip in training [participation] may soon have an impact on competitiveness and productivity. The current trend is opposite to what Finnish businesses need to improve their productivity,” argues Antila. “Personnel with the sufficient know-how to adopt new ways of working and product development will guarantee success.”
The survey was conducted by Innolink between February and March, 2016. A total of 1,200 SAK members responded to the survey.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT Photo: Roni Lehti – Lehtikuva Source: Uusi Suomi
