In trying to understand the needs of what is now the largest generation in the American workforce, millennials, a survey was conducted to determine the status of their views on their working conditions.
The “lack of company support for training and development” is the top most surprising aspect of work in the “real world,” according to a recent survey, Millennial Mindset Study by Mindflash.
However this group isn’t sitting around complaining. In fact 88% are willing to invest personally or sacrifice anything from vacations to coffee habits to train themselves in the skills needed to compete in the workforce today.
One in three (31%) of the employed 18-33 year-old Americans interviewed, most of which have at least seven years of work experience, report that while it is tough to keep up with the skills they need to do their job, they seek out training on their own to address this challenge.
Meanwhile, only 20% indicated that while it is hard to keep up with the needed job skills, their employers equip them with necessary training opportunities.
“Perhaps against conventional stereotypes, the majority of millennials are shocked by the lack of skills development available in the workplace today, and is committed to taking matters in their own hands,” said Donna Wells, CEO, Mindflash.
Despite that more than half (57%) of millennials report they have managed or currently manage at least one person, there are areas where they want and need help. When it comes to their assessment of their own skills gaps, “project management” (25%) emerged as the top leadership skill that millennials want to develop, followed by “interpersonal communication” (21%) and “problem solving” (20%).
So while they recognize there is room for improvement, millennials are also aware that negative stereotypes exist around them. More than one quarter, 26%, say the biggest misconception is that “we don’t know how to communicate because we spend too much time with technology,” followed closely by “we’re overconfident and self-centered” and “we don’t want any guidance, training or input.”
One area where millennials strongly assert they thrive in managerial roles specifically, however, is in bringing fresh thinking (26%) and open-mindedness (31%) to the workplace, rating these attributes over technological savvy as the chief benefits of having millennials in manager roles.
