Employment disputes could rise "with obsolete skills"

Published on 9 Jul 2010 under category: legal

Employment disputes could become more common as more employees find themselves unable to cope with post-recession changes in the working environment.

A survey published this month by Capita Learning and Development found that one in four business leaders polled believed that at least half of current employee skills could "become obsolete" in the near future.

This could mean that employees raise disputes with employers as they find their job roles sidelined or marginalised.

In addition, it could give rise to more stress in the workplace, as workers find themselves having to adapt to more work demands because of streamlining from the recession.

However, the solution could be in the development and enhancement of transferable skills by businesses, according to one business organisation.

The Chartered Institute of Management believes that project work could be vital in the future, allowing workers to develop new skills that can be utilised across departments.

Mark Petrook, spokesperson for the organisation, said: "There is certainly an increasing need for project work, and a number of organisations that we're talking to say that they are bringing different people for different projects.

"What they are doing there is looking at the skill sets that people offer and then when one project finishes they are looking to use those skills elsewhere. In other words, what they're doing is focussing on the immediate needs of a project, making it work successfully, making it working efficiently, and then ensuring that transferable skills are transferred to other parts of the business."

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