It follows the alarming reveal companies would rather recruit new talent than train existing employees, according to a landmark business report. 

But the TAFE NSW commissioned report also found training was the second most effective way to retain staff – behind pay and incentives. 

One of the city’s IT business managers Tom Atkinson said he knew this too well. 

With technology constantly shifting and changing, he said in-house training was paramount. 

“If you don’t train your staff, you lose them,” Mr Atkinson said. “They will want to go find a better opportunity somewhere else.”

The Think Technology Australia manager said investing in up-skilling staff was worth it in the long run. It was one of the reasons Mr Atkinson said he hired graduates, with the right foundations. 

“We spend time and money training our specific systems,” he said. “If you’re not constantly training, you’re left behind.”

Yet, according to this year’s report, 57 per cent of employers across the state said they were hiring new staff , because it was difficult to find appropriate training for their existing workers. 

However, with skill shortages on the rise across a range of sectors, Wagga Recruitment director Rhyley Hunter said simply churning through staff was not the answer. 

Mr Hunter said a lot of employers were choosing to hire candidates with the right skills, rather than the right belief, attitude and compatibility. 

“We may have someone who would fit perfectly in the company, but they don’t have as much specific experience as the company would like,” Mr Hunter said. 

“They won’t put in the time and effort to train them.”

He said the benefits of in-house training were overwhelming. 

“If you take the time to train your staff for six to 12 months, the benefits will come back in spades,” Mr Hunter said.

“It’s a no-brainer.”