​Carrington West and the CIHT conducted a series of surveys to look at changes in the working environment over the past 2 years. We probed into a range of areas including how equity, diversity & inclusion (ED&I) has been affected by the pandemic, how and where we work, which new technologies we need to facilitate “new” working practices and training and development, especially for those at the beginning of their career.

The results confirmed what many of us suspected, that hybrid working is here to stay. In fact, almost 90% say they now work from home some or all the time and 68% said they would only consider a job in the future if work from home. This will in turn and over time impact how we work, changing the skills we need (66% say that technology and IT skills are more important than ever), team and company culture and how we share and develop the knowledge of young professionals.

Without a doubt, young professionals are amongst those that have been most affected by the pandemic. According to our survey, many feel their career progression has been slowed or negatively impacted by the pandemic. For sure, there is more research needed by employees to fully understand and respond to the impact, especially at a time where we are already being plagued by media coverage of talent shortages in practically every sector. Whilst we recognise we are seeing increasing competition for appropriately experienced and skilled professionals at all levels in the highway and transport sector, more often than not demand can be met when employers show willing to invest in training.

Carrington West Director, Simon Gardiner, and Team Leader, Adam Butler, will be discussing some of the findings from the research at the upcoming CIHT Young Professionals’ Conference. Specifically, they will be looking at the skills that graduates and young professionals have when they enter the industry and compare them with the technical skills that employers are looking for. Is there a difference in opinions between employers and employers and how can we meet in the middle to get the job done? We will delve into how and what employers offer in terms of training programmes and look at the all important soft skills that will help young professionals get a foot on the ladder and help them remain relevant today and into the future.

For more information please contact Simon Gardiner or Adam Butler.