Although the high individual skills of employees are their personal achievements, other stakeholders can contribute to meeting the needs of people’s professional growth. In particular, the role of government boards may be significant as support for workers, which provides convenient conditions for advanced training and, therefore, enhances employees’ individual values. McGurk and Meredith mention the policy of national apprenticeships and note its importance as a mechanism to stimulate the professionalism of the workforce.
However, at the same time, the authors argue that corresponding support programs are often “highly centralized in the form of national government contracts with private providers”. This means that the authorities can assist organizations in sponsoring special courses for advanced training but only in specific areas or spheres. Nevertheless, the role of the government is significant since the assistance provided can help business companies to avoid additional costs on staff education, thereby preserving their assets and minimizing the risk of losses.
The role of employers in creating appropriate conditions for the development of subordinates’ future skills is also significant. McGurk and Meredith remark that they are the main job providers, which, in turn, imposes a great responsibility on them, for instance, to maintain stable working conditions. However, depending on the specifics of a particular business, the importance of employers may vary. Their influence can decrease in areas controlled by government boards, and actual management functions are not of significant importance due to the delegation of authority to higher authorities.
In this regard, the involvement of employers in special programs and unions may be a productive measure to increase the degree of their influence in the work process and stimulate the satisfaction of employees’ needs in relation to improving professional skills. Otherwise, their participation in the labor environment is fictitious, and even the leaders of private organizations do not always have sufficient authority to coordinate their business independently.
The participation of trade unions as stakeholders in meeting employees’ future skills needs can play a big role if adequate engagement practices are applied. McGurk and Meredith analyze these boards in relation to the influence on the professional activities of staff and note that the contribution of individual representatives of these associations can be significant. For instance, responsible persons involved in training practices can help personnel improve their professional qualifications by providing conditions for education – courses, seminars, and other projects.
However, McGurk and Meredith argue that in some organizations, the role of trade unions is negligible and has little effect on enhancing employees’ future skills. In this regard, it is essential to achieve an increase in their role in order to create conditions for the productive development of the necessary skills among workers and. This, in turn, can help realize the official right of trade unions to independent activities. Of the three proposed participants, the role of trade unions is the least significant in contemporary market environments.