Need for further training in SMEs increases because of Corona
At the beginning of the year, the Swiss Association for Continuing Education SVEB examined the influence of the Corona crisis on continuing education in SMEs. According to the study published by SVEB on May 10, 2021, a majority of companies attribute a high priority to continuing education in order to counter the effects of the pandemic. However, many SMEs are still cutting back on continuing education.
An online survey of 123 SMEs conducted by the Swiss Association for Continuing Education SVEB between December 2020 and January 2021 confirms the high importance of continuing education among small and medium-sized enterprises. Two-thirds of the participating SMEs consider continuing education to be important in order to deal with the consequences of the COVID 19 pandemic.
Competence requirements and need for further training increased
For a large proportion of the SMEs surveyed, the Corona situation places high demands on the skills of employees overall. One third state that the workforce requires new or different skills. At around 60% of the companies, the pandemic is having an impact on skills for agile working as well as social and communication skills. 43% also note a strong to very strong effect on digital competencies.
The need for further training has also increased among 33% SMEs in times of Corona. The study defines a company's need for further training as the need for employees to acquire new competencies or expand existing knowledge in order to meet the requirements of the company.
Higher demand only partially covered
However, the increased need for further training is not being met by all SMEs. The study shows that almost one third of SMEs with an increased need for further training have not changed their further training activity or have even reduced it.
Furthermore, a certain caution is evident in the financing of further training. Expenditure on external training courses in particular is being cut back. This is probably due to the fact that many SMEs need support with financing or IT infrastructure as a result of the crisis. The reluctance could also be related to the fact that half of the companies surveyed said they lacked knowledge about the skills of the future.
Source and further information: SVEB
