randstad workmonitor 4th quarter 2015: employee outlook 2016: stem and digital profiles high on wish lists.

According to the latest findings of the Randstad Workmonitor, employers have an increasing need for STEM profiles (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), say 42% of the respondents globally. 71% point out that more students should focus on a career in STEM. More than two thirds of the respondents (67%) agree that their employer should invest more in developing digital skills. Finally, if the respondents were 18 years old again, 63% would focus on a study field within STEM and even more (84%) would focus on a study field within digital/online.

Talent sourcing remains challenging

Finding the right talent remains an issue for employers. 57% of the global respondents point out that their employer has trouble in finding the right talent today and even expect it to become increasingly difficult for their employer to find the right talent in the future. In Hong Kong, 73% of the respondents think it’s the most difficult to source the right talent while Norway is at the other end of the scale with 37%.

Digitalization and automation

With regard to the digitalization in their job, 78% say that they feel equipped to deal with this trend. In Mexico, people are even more confident (96%), but in Japan, however, only 42% says so. Only 31% of the respondents expect that their job will be automated within the next 5 to 10 years.

General outlook on economic and financial situation in 2016

On a global level, employees are quite positive for 2016: 58% believe the economic situation in their country will improve in 2016 which is the same as last year. Employees in Australia are the most positive (90%); people in Chile and Greece the least (35% and 19% respectively). 53% of the respondents indicate that their employer performed better financially in 2015 than in 2014, and 71% expects their employer to perform even better in 2016. Although the expectations are high, only 51% expect to receive a raise and 48% to receive a one-time financial bonus at the end of this year.

Quarterly recurring items

Mobility Index a bit down to 109

The number of employees who expect to find another job within the next 6 months slightly dropped to 109 in the last quarter, which results in a rather steady index since 2012. Looking deeper, there are some changes in mobility compared to the last quarter, such as the increases in Malaysia (+5), Canada, Chile and Hong Kong (+3). Contrary to these increases, mobility shows a decline in France (-9), and India and Turkey (-7). In The Netherlands, Denmark, China, Czech Republic and Poland employees haven’t changed their expectations towards mobility.

Actual job change slightly down to 22%

The number of employees worldwide who actually changed jobs in the last six months went slightly down to 22% (compared to 24% in the last quarter). Although mobility in India is among the lowest, they show the highest job change together with Portugal, Turkey, Austria, Australia and Malaysia. Luxembourg has the lowest job change (4%). 

The appetite to change jobs increased in Greece, Singapore, Slovakia, Denmark, China and Norway compared to last quarter. The UK, Italy, India, Czech Republic, Brazil, Poland and Japan show a decrease. Employees in Luxembourg and Portugal have the lowest appetite to change jobs.

Job satisfaction: again highest in Canada, Norway, Australia and India

In 20 countries, more than 70% of the employees are ‘very satisfied’ or ‘satisfied’ with their current employer. In only 1 country, the percentage of employees that are (very) dissatisfied ranks under 25%.

The Randstad Workmonitor

The Randstad Workmonitor was launched in the Netherlands in 2003, then in Germany, and now covers 34 countries around the world. The last country to join was Portugal in 2014. The study encompasses Europe, Asia Pacific and the Americas. The Randstad Workmonitor is published 4 times a year, making both local and global trends in mobility visible over time.

The Workmonitor’s Mobility Index, which tracks employee confidence and captures the likelihood of an employee changing jobs within the next 6 months, provides a comprehensive understanding of sentiments and trends in the job market. Besides mobility, the survey addresses employee satisfaction and personal motivation as well as a rotating set of themed questions.

The study is conducted online among employees aged 18-65, working a minimum of 24 hours a week in a paid job (not self-employed). Minimum sample size is 400 interviews per country. The Survey Sampling International (SSI) panel is used for sampling purposes. The fourth wave of 2015 was conducted between 21 October and 4 November 2015.