A SURVEY conducted on behalf of the Confederation of British Industry has shown that 34% of companies believe job security has fallen over the past three years.
This finding comes in spite of a growing number of firms seeking to boost the employability of staff through training and flexible working practices.
According to the survey almost two-thirds of UK firms train workers beyond the requirements of their jobs, a situation which CBI director- general Adair Turner sees as proof that employers recognise training as beneficial for productivity and staff retention.
The June edition of CBI News reported that 61% of responding companies offered employees ''some training beyond the needs of their job'', providing some evidence that firms have taken on board the message that increasing ''employees' employability can have benefit in terms of better skills, adaptability, motivation and retention of staff''.
The Employment Trends survey also reveals that companies' working patterns are becoming more flexible, with 41% of firms using more contract workers, 47% taking on more temporary staff, and 38% operating more flexible working hours.
In addition, 64% are operating shift patterns, while 17% have moved on to annualised working hours.
Even so, 34% reported that they felt job security had decreased over the past three years.
Turner believes that these moves towards greater flexibility have been vital to the UK's improved record on unemployment and that individuals' confidence in their own employability is the key antidote to job insecurity, enabling them to see labour market flexibility as liberating rather than threatening.
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