‘Insurmountable’ barriers to reskilling leave UK employees feeling trapped on their career path

New research reveals over two thirds (69%) of UK adults would reskill into a new field if given the opportunity, with almost half (42%) feeling unable to leave their current career path.

The survey by BT has revealed that, given the opportunity, 69% of people would reskill and work in a different specialism, with technology (18%), health (17%) and finance (10%) topping the list of sectors that people wished they could switch to.

Many employed UK adults dream of changing their situation, as nearly a quarter (22%) of the UK’s workforce have revealed they’re unhappy in their current job role, while almost half (42%) feel trapped in their current field of work with no clear way to change their career path.

However, research shows the barriers to gaining the skills needed to make a change are too great, leaving Brits feeling left on the shelf.

Over a third (31%) believe they are too old to learn new skills, (28%) say the uncertainty of getting a foot in the door of a new industry is their biggest worry and (24%) said they can’t afford to take time off to study and get the necessary accreditations for their dream role.

Yet, while employees are looking to challenge themselves with new skills and responsibilities, nearly one in ten (8%) fear that their current role would be put at risk if their company knew they were interested in other work.

That doubles (19%) amongst young people (18-24 year olds) who also say their greatest barrier to retraining is that they don’t know how to change their situation (39%).