"HR is often understood to be the
softer side of managing a business," said
Wong. "But these professionals can cer-tainly
benefit from a strong relationship
with the finance department, who bet-ter
understand how to extract value from
data. Strong metrics lead to better anal-ysis,
which in turn leads to both a more
productive and engaged workforce and a
better bottom line."
MORE THAN HALF OF WORKING
CANADIANS WANT A DEGREE/
DIPLOMA DO-OVER
After years of hard work and dedication to
their studies, college and university gradu-ates
are eager to start their careers and put
their education to good use. But will the
time and money they invested pay off? A
recent survey from Monster Canada found
that more than half of working Canadians
would opt to pursue a different degree or
diploma, if they could go back in time and
begin their post-secondary schooling again.
Even though the majority of working
Canadians want a degree/diploma do-over,
less than one-third reported they
would stay the course and pursue their
same degree/diploma, while one-in-10
would go straight into the workforce.
“If you’re not finding satisfaction in
your selected industry, it’s never too late
to course-correct your career,” said Sheryl
Boswell, director of marketing at Monster
Canada. “Canadians need to remember
there is no age limit to learning and de-velopment,
whether you want to increase
your skills in your current field or pursue
new opportunities.”
CANADIANS CRAVE
A CHALLENGE
The survey, conducted by Leger, found
that most working Canadians feel qual-ified
– or overqualified – for their jobs.
Specifically, two-thirds feel appropriately
qualified, while one-quarter report feeling
overqualified.
Younger Canadians are one of the
groups most likely to feel overqualified
for their current position. Three-in-ten
Millennials (18 to 34 years old) say they
are overqualified. On the other side of this
coin, this sentiment regarding over-quali-fication
is also shared by those in the 55 to
64 age group.
Millennials are also the group most like-ly
to go straight into the workforce if given
the choice to start over, with one-in-seven
reporting this.
IS IT WORTH IT?
Six-in-ten working Canadians agree that
their most recent or current job is directly
related to their education, and 60 per cent
say their degree was worth obtaining.
Even though the majority of working
Canadians feel their degree was worth it,
of those who felt their degree wasn’t worth
obtaining, one-in-five said instead of a do-over,
they would go straight into workforce.
WOMEN MORE LIKELY TO
CHOOSE A DIFFERENT ROUTE
Slightly more working women (54 per
cent) report they would pursue a differ-ent
degree/diploma if given the option for
a do-over, compared to 51 per cent of men.
Gender differences also come into play
when asked if their degree/diploma was
worth obtaining. Forty per cent of wom-en
feel their degree/diploma wasn’t worth
obtaining compared to 36 per cent of men.
“Women may experience a career path
that isn’t entirely linear due to major life
events, such as starting a family, being a
caregiver or returning to school at a later
age,” said Boswell. “While you might feel
like your education doesn’t directly relate
to your current job, a post-secondary edu-cation
is about more than just the field you
studied. It is an opportunity to grow, learn
and explore, and even if there isn’t a direct
connection now, it could help you find bet-ter
opportunities in the future.” ■
news
FORTY PER CENT OF WOMEN
FEEL THEIR DEGREE/
DIPLOMA WASN’T WORTH
OBTAINING COMPARED TO
36 PER CENT OF MEN.
12 ❚ JUNE 2017 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL