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Participation in skills training: A report from the Survey on Employment and Skills

The COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted the workplace. Some businesses closed either temporarily or permanently. Others enabled their employees to work from home. Those that could not shift to remote work had to implement new safety procedures to
prevent their employees from getting sick. Along the way, access to skills training was interrupted. In cases where training did continue, its focus often shifted to managing the changes in the workplace caused by the pandemic.

The latest wave of the Survey on Employment and Skills, conducted in March 2023, revisits the issue of access to skills training. Three years after the onset of the pandemic, it finds that more workers are participating in work-related training to improve their skills, while training is becoming less focused on the management of the pandemic. It also shows that the most common type of training is that which focuses on workplace health and safety. The survey finds that working from home does not appear to have posed a barrier to skills training to date, as those who have switched to working from home are more likely than those who continue to work in their regular workplace to access training to improve their skills.

New employee, training and work during covid-19 pandemic. Millennial african american woman in apron, protective mask and gloves with guy preparing latte near equipment in interior of loft cafe

Key insights

44 percent of people in the labour force participated in a training course during the past12 months that was provided by their employer. This compares to 34 percent a year earlier, and to 33 percent in June 2021

22 percent of workers participated in a training course during the past 12 months that was not provided by their employer, but that they took while they were working. This compares to 19 percent a year earlier, and to 18 percent in June 2021

20 percent of workers participated in a training course during the past 12 months that they took while they were unemployed. Among those unemployed at the time of the survey, the figure is 27 percent

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