Just 11% report their workplace focuses most resources on developing employee
Canadian employers are steering far more of their resources toward new technology than toward developing their own staff.
A Capital One Canada survey found that 51 percent of the technology and business professionals surveyed said their employers had focused most or all of their resources on new technological tools.
Just 11 percent said the emphasis had fallen mostly or exclusively on employee development.
That divide sits alongside a workforce that, for the most part, feels ready for what comes next.
The survey found that 79 percent of respondents felt fully equipped to handle the future of work over the next three to five years, even as 51 percent described the pace of technological integration as fast and 17 percent said they had found it difficult to keep up.
The findings also capture a source of workplace strain.
New workplace technology has driven up stress levels for 43 percent of professionals though 67 percent said they were considering taking action in response.
A third, 33 percent, pointed to upskilling or further education as their way of coping.
"While the adoption of new technology is critical, it's important that employers remain focused on the people side of the equation," said Susan Zettergren, chief people officer at Capital One Canada.
Businesses must balance technology with investment in "fundamental human skills" such as mentorship, leadership training, and educational resources, she said.
Where employers do invest in development, workers gave positive if modest marks.
More than half rated the accessibility of the upskilling or training on offer as good or excellent, at 57 percent, and 55 percent said the same about its relevance.
The data also suggests that human-centric skills have held their ground.
Almost half of respondents, 47 percent, said those skills remained as valued at work as they were two years earlier and 36 percent said they had become even more valued over that period.
