This week sees the launch of a national campaign, driven by leading Wetherby based training provider, Pitman Training Group, as the team set to overhaul worrying statistics on the UK’s attitude towards work.
Shocking recent surveys reveal that: 27% of young people in work feel depressed ‘always’ or ‘often’. 48% of NEETs feel this way; Only 8% of us feel we’re in our dream job. Over 42% waste up to four hours a week dreaming of what we could be doing instead but 72% of people rate being happy at work as one of the most important factors to their job.* This week sees Pitman Training Group kick off a national tour to try and redress this.
Pitman Training Group, which has over 100 franchised centres across the UK, and is also currently driving forward growth internationally, having recently signed up partners in Libya and Australia, has invested in the development of a new free app, thought to be the first of its kind in the industry.
The app, developed by Tyrell Mobile and available worldwide, uses technology to highlight people’s skills and tap into the psychology of why people are suited to certain jobs. Launching on 2nd September as part of Pitman Training’s Drive Your Future Forward campaign, the app is supported by roadshow activity which sees their Pitman campervan visit six UK locations over the next month offering career advice and the chance to win the ‘ultimate career package’, alongside activity in Pitman branches nationally, including the Wetherby centre.
Claire Lister, MD of Pitman Training Group, which celebrated its 175th anniversary last year said: “Attitudes to work have changed dramatically over the years and the sentiment of the nation currently is very worrying. The intention is to help fight against the national statistics in a bid to improve workplace happiness and career satisfaction. We’re excited about taking Pitman on tour and welcoming people from all backgrounds to see how we can help them. We’re also hoping that our app will help prove that Yorkshire workers are bucking the national trend.”
Pitman Training at Wetherby will be running a series of events from 9th September. Pitman Training Centre Manager at Wetherby, Christine Walsh said: “We hope people will make a pit stop in their day to call in for a Career MOT. We believe that a bit of encouragement, in a fun way, will show there are ways we can take charge of our careers, and we hope this will lead to Yorkshire being a place full of happier workers”.
She added: “Asking if your skills are perfectly matched to the job you’re in, and if you could make use of your key character traits to help you get ahead, our Career MOTs are a chance to see how you can help yourself to be happier at work. Drop in on the way to work, in your lunch hour, whilst out shopping, or on your way home and tap into our free advice.”
More details of the campaign are available at: www.pitmancareermot.com
Having a lack of money to train came out in research as a key barrier for why people are not going after their dream jobs, with 37.5% citing this as an issue, however the Career MOT illustrates how to make existing skills pay, as well as identifying new ones you could learn, to help highlight how our unique personalities can be one of our biggest assets in our careers.
Leading happiness consultant and author, Alexandra Watson said: “Being happy at work isn’t just about whether you like your boss, get on with your colleagues and get to take advantage of long lunches from time to time – today’s workforce is much more driven than that. In tough times we might assume that people are happy just to be in a job, but this isn’t the case. This is when we think even more about our future and our prospects and if we can’t see any light at the end of the tunnel we quickly loose interest. Encouraging people to identify their skills, and key character traits that could help them move forward is a great way to show that there are more exciting futures out there. This is also true for people who are currently unemployed, who may be struggling to see any options at all – having a kind of road map to work to is a huge help”.
Pitman Training’s centre in Wetherby is based at Sandbeck Way LS22 7DN, and the Career MOT sessions start from 9th September.
The app will also be showcased at the Franchise Exhibition – 4th and 5th October at Birmingham NEC; Office* on 8th and 9th October at Olympia in London, and Skills London, Excel on 22nd and 23rd November, where the Pitman Campervan stops off at the trade shows to engage with industry delegates along with potential future franchisees.