According to a study carried out by the temporary employment agency Tempo-Team, 50% of employers believe that workers do not receive adequate training. To address this shortfall, some employers are now introducing specialist training courses.

A study by Tempo-Team, a temporary employment agency, has recently cast new light on this subject. For over two thirds of 200 employers and 600 workers surveyed, training remained the key factor in finding and retaining a job. This is all the more pertinent given that 50% of employers surveyed believed that workers had not received sufficient training. Further, half of those questioned added that training will become even more important in the future because people are working longer and they need to remain highly professional.

But, and here is the catch, only 30% of workers believe they are given sufficient opportunities to receive training. In almost half the cases, the main obstacles were excessively high cost of training and not having enough time. The study also brings another aspect to the fore: only 38% of workers believe their schooling prepared them properly for their current jobs. A third of employees had not taken the labour market into account when deciding upon their studies.

What is self-evident, however, is that a majority of jobs are becoming increasingly technical. In industry, production processes are switching to digital, robotics is replacing manual labour, orders and controls are also being automated. In services and logistics too, technical know-how is becoming a key competence. It is becoming more and more difficult to fill vacancies for which no schools offer training.

This is the case, for example, for aircraft refuellers. With almost all training given on the job, in absence of a better alternative, anyone applying for a profile of aircraft refueller is expected to ’have the C driving licence, speak English to communicate with crew members, be authorised to transport dangerous materials and aware of the safety procedures in place,’ explains Marc Sparmont, director of human resources at Liege airport. In partnership with Forem and Tempo-Team, Liege airport decided to design a tailor-made training course. From CVs and interviews, six trainees were selected from 200 candidates. All six  trainees started out as lorry drivers who had been affected by the crisis in the road transport sector.

Following the initial training course of 260 hours, four new aircraft refuellers are now employed on temporary contracts. Advantages for new recruits include less stressful hours than lorry drivers, a better salary and better job security. In return, employers benefit from a qualified workforce with awareness of safety standards, technical knowledge, English language skills and, most importantly, they are ready to be hired!