Digits surveyed over 1,000 employees to find out more about management training provisions in the UK. Here's the results

Digits surveyed over 1,000 employees to find out more about management training provisions in the UK. Here’s the results

Digits polled 1,031 UK workers to find out more about the management training provisions that their employers provide. The results reveal that over a quarter (26%) of people who manage or supervise other people have never been formally trained to do so.

Key findings

• 26% of UK managers say they haven’t received any management training
• 77% of managers who receive regular management training say they like or love their current job (compared to 54% of managers who haven’t received management training)
• 38% of managers who haven’t received any management training are planning to change employer / look for a new job over the next twelve months (compared to 28% of managers who receive regular management training)

53% of respondents manage or supervise people

One in 14 (7%) managers who responded to the survey have one direct report, and one in seven (15%) manage two or three people. A further 15% manage between 4-9 people, 8% manage a team of 10 people or more, and 8% manage a team of 20 people or more. Full-time workers are more likely to manage or supervise people than those working part-time (58% to 36% respectively).

26% of managers report receiving no management training

One in four (26%) managers have never received any management training. A further two-fifths (39%) only received management training when they first became a manager. Just a third (35%) of UK managers enjoy regular management training.

Men reportedly receive more regular management training than women (38% compared to 32%). Only one fifth (21%) of male managers, compared to nearly a third (32%) of female managers, say they’ve received no management training. This disparity persists even when looking at the data for full-time workers only. Female managers who work full-time are 38% more likely to not have received management training (29% of full-time female managers are untrained, compared to 21% of their full-time male counterparts).

Two-fifths (40%) of the part-time managers surveyed (60% are female, 40% are male) report receiving no management training, compared to only a quarter (25%) of managers in full-time work. Part-time managers are also less likely to receive regular training than full-time managers (27% compared to 36%).

Those that manage teams of ten people or more are 50% more likely to receive regular training than those with between one and five direct reports (45% compared to 30%). That still leaves around one in seven (14%) managers, reportedly trying to manage big teams (of 10 people or more) with no management training at all.

Managers with just one direct report are the least likely to have received management training.

Managers working in healthcare and social assistance are most likely to say that they haven’t received any management training (38%). Followed by managers working in education (35%), real estate (33%), manufacturing (31%), and government and public administration (30%).

More managers working in the scientific or technical services sector receive regular management training (77%) than any other industry. Followed by those employed in the arts, entertainment, or recreation (50%), construction (43%), retail (42%), and IT, software, and telecoms (42%).

52% of managers say their workload wasn’t reduced when they first became a manager

54% of women, compared to 49% of men, say their workload wasn’t reduced when they first became a manager. This disparity increases when looking at the data for full-time workers only. Female managers who work full-time are 17% more likely to report that their workload wasn’t reduced than their male counterparts (55% to 47% respectively). For part-time workers the gap is slightly smaller, with 60% of women, compared to 56% of men, saying that their workload wasn’t reduced when they first became a manager.

59% of respondents in part-time work say their workload wasn’t reduced when they first became a manager, compared to 51% of managers working full-time.

Managers working in legal services are most likely to say that their workload wasn’t reduced to allow sufficient time to manage their team properly (100%). Followed by managers working in retail (70%), manufacturing (67%), health care and social assistance (60%), and education (54%).

Two-thirds (69%) of all managers say that they like or love their current job

Managers are more likely than non-managerial staff to like / enjoy their jobs. Over two-thirds (69%) of all managers say that they like (50%) or love (19%) their current job, compared to only 59% of non-managers (41% and 18% respectively).

Managers who benefit from regular training are even more likely to say that they like / enjoy their jobs. 28% of managers who receive regular management training say they love their current job, and a further 49% say they like their job – that’s 77% overall. In comparison, only 54% of managers who haven’t received management training say the same (only 6% love their job and 48% like it).

A quarter (24%) of managers who haven’t received management training admit to disliking or hating their current jobs (20% and 4% respectively). Only one in ten (11%) managers who receive regular management training say the same.

Over three-quarters (78%) of managers working in IT, software and telecoms, manufacturing, and the scientific or technical services sector say they like or love their job.

31% of managers are planning to look for a new job over the next twelve months

One in four (28%) survey respondents (including managers and non-managerial staff) are planning to change employer / look for a new job over the next twelve months.

Managers aged 45 years or older are the least likely to be looking for a new job in 2022. Around two-fifths (39%) of managers aged 35 to 44-years-old and a third of (36%) of managers aged 25 to 34-years-old are planning to change employers over the next twelve months, compared to only 23% of the over-45s and 31% of 18 to 24-year-olds.

68% of people (managers and non-managers) who dislike or hate their jobs, plan to change employer / look for a new job over the next twelve months. Non-managerial staff who don’t like their jobs are more likely to stay put – 12% don’t plan to leave, compared to only 6% of managers.

38% of managers who like (23%) or love (15%) their jobs are still planning to change employer / look for a new job over the next twelve months.

42% of employees occupying senior management positions, such as CEOs, directors, and C-level executives, are thinking of changing job or employer in 2022. As are 38% of managers who have received no management training. This compares to 28% of managers that receive regular management training and 25% of non-managerial staff.

Over a third (35%) of all managers who started their job in 2021 are considering leaving it within the next year. Around 40% of managers that started their job in 2020 or 2019 are also planning to leave their employers.

The data suggests that managers working in real estate, marketing and sales, and IT, software and telecoms are the most likely to be planning a job change in the next year (67%, 50% and 41% respectively).

NOTES:

Digits polled a representative sample of 1,031 employed British adults, who have been provided with training by an employer at some point in their career. The survey was conducted between 25 October and 8 November 2021.

11% of survey respondents work in small companies with 26-50 employees, 28% work in medium-sized companies with 51-250 employees, 23% work in large companies with 251-1,000 employees, 15% work in organisations with 1,001-5,000 employees, and 23% work in enterprises with 5,001 employees or more.

All statistics have been rounded to the nearest integer or one decimal place. Totals may not sum due to rounding.