Retraining, the watchword for the labor market in 2025

Almost two-thirds (60%) of employees want to undergo professional retraining in the next year, the main reasons for which they want a career change being a better salary, professional development prospects and the transition to remote or hybrid work, reveal the results of a specialized survey. According to research conducted by eJobs.ro and the online course platform Skillab, 6 out of 10 respondents plan to change their field of activity or undergo a professional retraining process in 2025, determined by the rapid pace at which the labor market is developing, but also by the requirements of employers, according to a press release from the recruitment platform. Only 23% of them say that they have a professional development plan that they are following, 33% of them have outlined a plan, but do not consider that they are implementing it. The remaining respondents do not have a plan, as 14% of them believe that it is exclusively the employer's responsibility, 16% believe that it would be difficult to follow and only 5% are not interested in having a career development plan. Raluca Dumitra, Head of Marketing within the recruitment platform stated: "We see a large percentage of employees who are already determined to make a clear move towards professional reconversion in the immediate future. They look not only at the fields that are developing, but also at the skills that the market requires in order to increase their chances of employment in 5 or 10 years from now. Candidates are starting to be more and more connected to the industries in which they want to work and to understand that they will have to adapt to the permanent changes that occur in their field of activity or in related fields". A better salary is the main reason why they would like to change their profession, being mentioned in first place by 77.4% of respondents. 43.4% are motivated by better development prospects, 38.5% would like to have a flexible working style, namely to be able to work remotely or hybridly, and almost as many are looking for more stability. Asked what their plans are for their professional development in the coming year and how they could make the desired retraining easier, 58% say they would take courses that would help them improve their management and communication skills and teamwork. Almost equally, 50% of respondents would give the same importance to developing their technical skillset in order to remain relevant. However, those who have taken a development course in the last year are only 30%, the survey results show. "Those who are already working on professional development are motivated primarily by the desire to keep up with market changes, but also by the benefits that continuous learning has. Thus, those who have taken courses in this regard notice important changes in their careers. 23.5% have started to be involved in new projects, 14.2% have made, together with their direct manager, a new plan so as to acquire new skills in order to advance. 8.1% have received a salary increase in their current job, and 7.6% have already found a better job in another company," said Raluca Neagu, general manager of the online course platform Skillab Romania. Beyond these specific arguments, 65% of candidates are convinced that they need to acquire new skills in order to remain relevant on the labor market, given that the field in which they work is changing so quickly that they need to learn continuously. IT skills, data management skills, business skills and financial skills are skill sets that employees believe they will need in the future. In terms of the time they would need and be willing to dedicate to education for a new career, 44% mention a total of 5 hours per week. 28% could devote 10 hours per week to such an endeavor, 9% 15 hours, and 11% even 20 hours. 9% have no availability for this purpose. In fact, 7 out of 10 employees and candidates participating in the survey say that, in the company they work for, professional development programs and courses are not part of the extra-salary benefits package. Only 11% have such a benefit, while 6% say that the financial effort is shared between employees and employers.