Millennials are more willing to pay out-of-pocket for their training

Dive Brief:

Manpower Group released a new report called Millennial Careers: 2020 Vision, a study of 19,000 working millennials and 1,500 hiring managers in 25 countries, to understand the working attitudes and values of this unique generation. Interestingly enough, they found that 95% of millennials said they were willing to pay for their own career training.
Says Ravin Jesuthasan, talent managing director at Willis Towers Watson in Chicago, millennials are willing to pay for their own training because they, “recognize their ability to stay relevant hinges on continuing to acquire skills." They understand the value of training because many companies have reduced their own budgets. Additionally, millennials tend to change jobs often.
Despite this, the article highlights KFC, the popular restaurant chain that rewards its employees for earning college credits. John Kurnick, chief people officer for KFC says the goal of their training programs are to “give people a better chance to succeed in business," whether they stay with KFC or go elsewhere. Kurnick says that employees who participate in the training often stay with the company longer.

Dive Insight:

Julie Cook Ramirez, who writes for Human Resources Executive, advises that a growing number of companies are issuing generous rewards to employees who pursue higher education. In addition to KFC, this includes Starbucks, JetBlue, and others that have partnered with colleges and universities to provide credits for on-the-job experience.

Ed Lawler, distinguished professor and director of the Center for Effective Organizations at the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California, says the changing value in training demonstrated by millennials is a result of the emergence of a "free agent/you're on your own" mindset, which has been compounded by millennials' desire to change employers frequently throughout their working years. Other generations also face this, so there are more people interested in learning than ever before, even at their own cost.