Almost a third of training professionals taking pay cuts to secure new jobs
A survey, to be released in January by Blue Eskimo, the learning industry’s recruitment specialist, shows that people are accepting salary drops for new jobs.
Blue Eskimo undertakes its salary survey every year – gathering detailed information on salaries and work from people within the learning industry and corporate learning departments.
This year, over 800 people responded to the survey, answering questions about pay, benefits, working hours, work/life balance, job satisfaction and more.
One of the survey’s most disturbing findings is that around 30% of those who responded took a pay cut to secure a new role – something which would have been almost unthinkable prior to the economic downturn.
However, Blue Eskimo director Nick Jones is keen to point out that much of the survey’s bad news is balanced by more positive trends. “While the survey shows a tightening of budgets and pay packets, some things have improved over the last year,” says Jones. “One example is that people are happier working in the learning industry than in previous years and that some benefits – possibly because they are a more cost- and tax-efficient way to reward employees – are actually on the rise.”
The survey includes the views of people from within the public and private sectors, both salaried employees and freelance contractors. It is the only survey of its kind, commissioned by Blue Eskimo – the recruitment company used by over half of learning professionals when seeking new work.
“We’ve had a record response to the survey this year,” says Jones, “and the results make compelling reading. We’re looking forward to publishing the full survey next year.”
The results of the survey will be made available in January 2012, via Blue Eskimo’s website, free of charge. Printed copies will also be available (again, free of charge) at the Learning Technologies exhibition, on 25-26 January 2012 – on Blue Eskimo’s stand, which is stand 27.