Career development opportunities… We hear this being spoken about increasingly by candidates as a key priority when job hunting, especially within the younger, “YoPro'' demographic. Although contracting, temporary, and fixed-term roles have grown in volume over the past few years, statistics are showing that candidates highly value a role they can grow, develop, and settle into.

A recent poll we ran on our LinkedIn revealed that 47% of employees valued career growth opportunities as their top motivation for seeking new job opportunities. Work-life balance was not far behind at 37%, following with ‘company culture ‘at 9%, and ‘better benefits’ coming in at 8%. As an employer, this demonstrates the importance you should place on making career development options a priority for your business.

So how do you implement this as an employer? Increasing career development prospects could include new responsibilities to expand employee’s knowledge and experience, such as planning an event, leading a meeting, or planning a project. It could also be of value to enrol employees in more formalised learning courses or classes to up-skill. Studies have additionally shown that “YoPro’s” often lack the confidence to discuss career prospects, so be proactive as an employer - book in catch-ups with your employees, and listen to their goals for their time at your company.

From an employee’s perspective in the current day, career development should not purely come through tenure. Employees are expecting Managers to find ways to invest in their futures, develop their skill sets and up-skill them to reach their highest potential. Investing in this aspect of your business could have long-term benefits such as retaining staff and creating a positive work culture.