Time, money and social pressure stop half of UK tradespeople from pursuing further training

Almost
half (45%) of UK tradespeople want
to do additional training but

are unable to do so because of barriers
like
time and finances.

In
line with the Festival of Learning (September), an awareness event designed to celebrate lifelong learning,
IronmongeryDirect
surveyed trade workers from across the nation to reveal the appetite for professional development.

Half
(50%)
say
that they enjoy learning new things,
but
one in eight (12%)
have reached a stage where they rarely do so anymore.

This
is largely due to the obstacles preventing them from pursuing further training,
and the most cited barrier
is
a lack of awareness.
Almost one in seven (13%) tradespeople say that they wouldn’t know where to look for development opportunities.

The

money and time (both 12%) required
for training courses
is
also
discouraging,
and,

sadly, so too
is social pressure. One
in 12 (8%) say that they don’t ask for more
training as they worry what other people would think
of them for making such a request.

Such
barriers are significant, as less than a fifth (17%) of tradespeople say that their initial training was enough
to set them up fully for their career,
highlighting

the importance of continuous learning.

Out
of all the trades, building surveyors (48%) are the most likely to face training obstacles, with money (19%) being their main stumbling block.