Lockdown learning boosts career prospects of under-35s

Young people have been using the opportunity of lockdown to broaden their skill set and boost their career prospects.

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Almost half of under 35s who are learning or trying something new have devoted their time to educational activities, like a new language, taking an online course or even learning to code.

The research also shows that more than one in ten  (13%) of this group have ramped up their side hustle by focusing on something entrepreneurial, like developing business opportunities.

Researchers found that 39% of those under 35 believe their newfound skills will be transferable to their current jobs, with 89% keen to apply their new ability to life and work outside of lockdown.

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More than a fifth (21%) of those who have learned or tried something new are even considering a complete career change as a result of the pandemic.

Nearly 24,000 people in the under 35s group were asked what new skills or hobbies they had taken up in lockdown. The responses were  as follows:

Fitness - 75%

Getting creative (for example drawing, knitting, sewing) - 67%

Cooking/baking - 54%

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Educational (for example learning a new language, skill, coding or taking a course) - 43%

DIY/home improvements (including gardening) - 23%

Puzzles - 14%

Meditation - 14%

Developing business opportunities - 13%

Volunteering - 6%

Other - 3%

Reading - 1%

Matt Hutchinson, director of SpareRoom.com who commissioned the research, said: “Being in lockdown has its ups and downs, but it’s provided lots of us with something we aren’t used to having, and that’s time. It's great to see that so many people are using their free time to learn something new.”

(Photo by Shutterstock)

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