There’s no better time to make a change for the better than at the beginning of a brand new year. And if you’re thinking of starting on the path to a new career, 2015 could be your year! The economy is improving, there are jobs to be found across a wide range of industries and employers are on the lookout for good employees. Could that be you? Here are 4 reasons why the New Year could be the best time for you to get started on your way to a new career.

The economy is booming

According to the U.S. Labor Department, the unemployment rate is at a six-year low. Even better, job gains averaged 241,000 per month throughout 2014, putting it on track to be the strongest year for hiring in 15 years! That means if you start to train now, you could be in the right place to ride the wave of America’s economic recovery with a fresh career.

There’s a skills gap in the U.S. today

Employers need and want to hire employees, but they just can’t find the type of people they want. In a 2014 Career Builder study, 81 percent of employers said it’s at least ’somewhat difficult’ for them to fill job vacancies. That’s because hiring managers aren’t just looking for new employees; they’re looking for the right ones.

Employers don’t want to train new hires

Hiring managers want people who have the right career training skills and hands-on experience to tackle the job of their new career from day one. According to the Harvard Business School’s Bridge the Gap: Rebuilding America’s Middle Skills, 54 percent of employers said that trained talent is difficult to find. The same study noted that only 22 percent of companies said that they would consider hiring someone who needed additional training.

Several industries expect to continue hiring into the New Year

The same Bridge the Gap study noted that 73 percent of U.S. companies expect the number of middle-skills jobs to grow over the next few years. Middle-skills jobs are those that require more education and training than a high school diploma, but less than a four-year college degree. Careers in such fields as healthcare and information technology will see big job gains through 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

So if you’re thinking about a new career, the New Year is exactly the right time for you to get started. At Porter and Chester Institute, we can provide you with career training that can help you become a great employee. If you’re ready to make a new future for yourself, check out our programs in computers, healthcare, information technology, automotive technology and the trades. This could be your happiest new year yet!

Resources

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/05/november-jobs-report-unemployment-rate_n_6271366.html

http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000

http://www.careerbuildercommunications.com/pdf/skills-gap-2014.pdf

http://www.hbs.edu/competitiveness/Documents/bridge-the-gap.pdf

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecopro.nr0.htm