Nearly half of Australian employers, 49%, say their workers have asked about training and professional development opportunities to assist them in their current roles, according to a survey by professional staffing firm Robert Half Inc.

Workers want new skills for advancement as well. The survey found that 47% of Australian employers report workers have asked for reskilling opportunities to take on new roles or responsibilities within organisations.

Mentoring was also a request cited by 33% of Australian employers, and 26% say they have been asked to allow job rotations that cross-train employees.

“The concept of upskilling and reskilling has gained prominence as professionals recognise the need to continuously learn and adapt,” Nicole Gorton, director at Robert Half, said in a press release. “By investing in employee training and development, a business creates a culture of progression that is beneficial to attracting and retaining talent.”

Other findings in the report include:

• 74% of business leaders say reskilling existing employees has increased their team’s workload capacity.
• 81% agree it has improved their team’s productivity.
• 73% of employers say if budget constraints are not an issue, they prefer to reskill a current employee than hire a new employee.
• 78% of employers prefer to upskill an existing employee to expand their skill set so they can perform more functions than recruit a new employee.

The survey included 300 hiring managers, including 100 CFOs and 100 CIOs, from companies across Australia.