Why you should take a job offering learning & development

You’ve received two job offers. No, make that four in today’s strong labor market. On paper, they’re all pretty equivalent. Roughly the same salary, give or take a few dollars, and similar benefits.

Three are for positions similar to the one you’ve been doing for a couple of years now – let’s say, Platform Engineer Consultant – and the fourth is a bit more of a stretch; a managerial role that will require you to oversee a substantial which, admittedly, you don’t have a lot of experience in.

You’ll need to invest time and energy into learning something you may not be comfortable with and push yourself out of your comfort zone. However, the organization has an exceptional learning and development (L&D) program and is offering to help advance your career on company time.

Which one do you pick?

It’s a no-brainer, really. The one with the free donuts… and the opportunity to learn and develop, of course. Not only will upskilling benefit you in the long-term, but growth is the lifeblood of business and without attention and development these days, companies won’t survive. L&D programs are critical for the success of both employees and their employers.

Today’s disruptive working landscape requires organizations to continually restructure the way they are doing work. Add to this research that suggests automation will displace 85 million jobs by 2025, and workforce roles will continue to change, as will the skills needed to perform them.

It’s because of this that L&D is no longer only a retention measurement used by companies, but key in realizing business strategy.

A tool to build a culture of continuous learning that focuses on the role of coaching, feedback, leadership and ownership, it also attracts top talent, like you. According to a 2021 Gallup survey conducted on behalf of Amazon, 57 percent  of workers (out of 15,066) put learning new skills as the third-most important perk when evaluating new job opportunities, behind only health insurance and disability benefits.

If this sounds like something you’d be interested in for your next role, here are three companies with great L&D programs – and you can browse for many more on The Hill Jobs Board.

Marriott International, Inc.

What the company does: Founded in 1927, Marriott International is a leading hotel and lodging company, with 30 brands and more than 8,000 properties across 139 countries and territories.
Locations hiring: All hotel and headquarter properties are hiring.
Number of employees: There are more than 120,000 employees at Marriott-managed properties.
Programs offered: Marriott International offers a variety of training to employees worldwide using multiple training delivery methods, including virtual and in-person. The training focuses on developing skills, and provides professional and career development training. Topic areas include work-life balance, leadership and management.

Sound like your kind of organisation? There are some fantastic roles on offer.

Amazon Web Services

What the company does: Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence and long-term thinking.
Locations hiring: Worldwide.
Number of employees: 1,608,000 employees worldwide, with 1.1 million of them in the U.S.

Programs offered: In late 2021, Amazon committed $1.2 billion to provide 300,000 employees with access to education and skills training programs – including college tuition for front-line employees – through 2025 as part of Amazon’s Upskilling 2025 pledge.

Why the company offers this perk: “Amazon is now the largest job creator in the U.S., and we know that investing in free skills training for our teams can have a huge impact for hundreds of thousands of families across the country,” said Dave Clark, former CEO of Worldwide Consumer at Amazon. 

If this has piqued your interest, here are some top jobs to apply for.

Accenture

What the company does: Accenture is a global professional services company with leading capabilities in digital, cloud and security.

Locations: Offices and operations in more than 200 cities in 50 countries.

Number of employees: 710,000 worldwide.

Programs offered: Learning is in Accenture’s DNA. It’s committed to offering its people opportunities to acquire new skills and strengthen their readiness to advance into new roles. It invests nearly $900 million each year in continuous learning and professional development programs, delivering more than 31 million training hours each year. Its programs include specialized certifications and deep tech training in platforms like Cloud (Microsoft, Azure, Google and AWS), SAP, Salesforce and others, workshops, online games, hackathons, virtual reality and more.

If that sounds like your kind of thing, then find out more about a great career move for you.

For lots more great roles that will make you want to make a move, check out The Hill Jobs Board.

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