Employers are enthusiastic about the impact Generation Z, those aged 16-21, will have on the success of their businesses, with two thirds of CEOs believing they’ll have a positive impact on their growth, a new study reports.
The research, carried out by Pareto Law on employers and ‘Gen Z’ themselves reveals that, while the latter don’t feel valued in the workplace, nearly two thirds (64 per cent) of CEOs say they expect this new generation will have a positive influence on the future of their business.
The study, which is laid out in a new whitepaper, Digital Learning and Gen Z, explores the expectations and requirements of CEOs in comparison to the incoming Gen Z employees, to see if businesses are really prepared to utilise their next wave of workers.
More than 60 per cent of businesses currently employ someone from Generation Z and just under two thirds (60 per cent) of those who don’t yet employ any believe they’d be a positive addition to their company. However, it seems not everyone is willing to pay for the resources to train this age group straight out of school, with nearly half (48 per cent) of businesses not offering apprenticeships to school leavers despite the new generation saying they’re an effective way to build skills.
Technology and creativity were common themes throughout the research, with over a third (39 per cent) of business owners agreeing that digital and social media knowledge is the high-reaching generation’s most valuable skill. A close second, however, was their ability to think creatively with 32 per cent stating it was the most valuable asset of Gen Z employees.
A mix of face-to-face and digital learning, also known as blended learning, has been shown to increase productivity by 50 per cent and more than half (51 per cent) of Generation Z claim to prefer this training method above all else. The report shows that employers are taking this on board however, with nearly half (47 per cent) employees gaining on the job training in this way.
Jonathan Fitchew, CEO and founder of Pareto Law, comments, ‘With CEOs thinking about the next wave of employees and how they’ll fit into their workforce, we wanted to discover how their expectations and training opportunities match up to those they’d be employing.
‘Not only are Gen Z the future of business, they’ll be instrumental in revolutionising the working world as we know it. They’re ambitious, digitally savvy and passionate and businesses need to be ready for them.’
Further reading on Gen Z
