1/3 of Americans Who Are Employed Report Not Receiving Any Formal Workplace Training from Their Current Employer

When it comes to formal workplace training, a majority of Americans who are employed full- or part-time say that they have received some form of instruction from their currently employer, including one in five who say that they have received formal training mostly online (20%) or in a classroom (16%), and another 30% who say that their training has involved a mix of both online and classroom components. However, another 30% of all Americans surveyed say that they have not received any formal workplace training from their current employer, according to a recent online survey conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Axonify.

Older respondents (37%, ages 55+), those earning less than $50,000 annually (37%), who do not have a college degree (38%), and those working part-time (37%) are significantly more likely than younger adults (20%, 18-34), the more affluent (26%, earning $50,000 and over), those with a higher education (23%), and those working full-time (28%), respectively, to say that they have not received any formal workplace training from their current employer.

Administrative/ clerical workers (43%) and manufacturing employees, plant or machine operators/ assemblers (46%) are also among those least likely to have received formal workplace training.

Among all respondents, formal workplace training is seen to positively correlate with workplace engagement, with nearly half (46%) of those surveyed saying that such training makes them feel extremely engaged towards their job, and another 45% saying that workplace training makes them feel at least somewhat engaged. Americans over the age of 55 (55%) and those working as professional or information workers (51%) are among the most likely to relate workplace training to feelings of extreme engagement with their job – with a majority among these groups agreeing they know what their role is, it’s overall importance and believe their contributions are highly valued by the company.

On the other hand, very few (9%) say that the formal workplace training (or lack of training) makes them feel disengaged: they don’t feel connected to the company’s business objectives, don’t understand how their role is valued and probably won’t stick around.

Among trainees more specifically, nearly half (46%) say that the workplace training that they have received is somewhat/not very/not at all effective in helping them be successful on the job, compared to 54% who see it as being extremely/ very effective in helping them succeed at work.
Adults under the age of 35, those with children living at home, and full-time employees are significantly more likely to rate workplace training as being extremely effective in helping them to succeed on the job.

Among those who rate their workplace training as being extremely/ very effective, a majority say that this is because they learn information that they can apply in the workplace (57%) and that allows them to develop professionally (50%). Sizeable proportions also feel this way because they see the information as presented in a digestible, retainable way (42%), and roughly a third say they find workplace training as being effective because the sessions are short and manageable (34%), they are paid to complete the training (34%), the training happens often and regularly (32%), and because they find the training fun and engaging (29%).

For those who rate their workplace training as being only somewhat effective, or again not very/ not at all effective, the most common problem is seen to be that they only receive training a few times each year (41%). Additionally, at least one in five say that their workplace training is ineffective because its boring (29%), there is too much information thrown at them at once (23%) or because they tend to forget most of the information within a short period of time (20%). A slightly smaller proportion say that their training is ineffective because they are trained on the wrong content (16%), while just over one in ten feel that they don’t have time to participate in the training (12%). Only 7% of dissatisfied trainees say that they simply don’t care to be trained, and another 6% are concerned about not being paid to complete the training, or mention some other reason (6%).