Many workers are open to changing careers but cannot see a financially safe or practical path into a new field.
A July 2026 survey commissioned by Indeed found that 76% of workers surveyed in Ireland could imagine changing careers. Financial uncertainty was the leading barrier, cited by 31% of respondents. Age followed at 27%, while 23% cited starting again as a beginner, lacking qualifications or being unsure which jobs would suit them.
The findings apply only to workers surveyed in Ireland and should not be treated as representative of the US workforce. They nevertheless reflect common career-change concerns: whether a worker can absorb a lower starting salary, whether more training is necessary and how existing experience translates into another occupation.
Employer support can reduce some of those obstacles. In the United States, 67% of employees called skill development a personal priority, while 48% believed their employer viewed it the same way.
Training cannot remove every barrier. Licensing requirements, family responsibilities, location and the cost of leaving paid work may still prevent a transition. Employer-provided training can determine whether workers must pay for preparation on their own.
Career changes involve more than a skills gap
The preparation required depends on the type of transition. Someone moving into a related position may need a short course or software certification. A worker entering a regulated occupation may need an accredited degree, supervised experience, a state examination or a professional license.
Health care, education and many skilled trades have requirements that workplace training cannot replace. Those rules vary by state and occupation, so career changers should verify them with the appropriate licensing authority before enrolling.
Other transitions may not require a new credential. Skills such as project management, budgeting, customer service, writing and problem-solving can transfer across industries even when employers use different job titles.
The key is separating genuine requirements from preferred qualifications. Treating every preferred skill as mandatory can lead workers to buy training that employers do not require.
Employer support can make retraining possible
The OECD’s 2025 adult-learning report identified employer financial support as one of the strongest predictors of participation. Among adults who took part in learning or wanted to participate, about half encountered a barrier.
Of those reporting barriers, 48% cited a lack of time because of work or family responsibilities. Another 14% could not find suitable training, while 13% cited cost.
Employer assistance can address several of those problems. Tuition reimbursement reduces the immediate expense, while paid learning time allows employees to complete training without giving up as much income or family time.
Almost half of adult learners rated their training as very useful, but access remained uneven.
Workers with fewer credentials receive less training
An April 2026 Indeed Hiring Lab analysis used data from a YouGov survey of 80,936 people across eight countries. Its employee findings covered 39,767 respondents age 25 and older, with fieldwork conducted in May and June 2025.
Workers without a bachelor’s degree were less likely to report receiving employer-provided training than degree holders in every country studied. The gap was 17 percentage points in the United States and reached 21 points in Australia and France.
Ireland reported the highest overall training rates, but an education gap remained. Among respondents with at least a bachelor’s degree, 86% received employer-provided training, compared with 78% of workers without a degree.
These disparities can make a career change especially difficult for workers in positions with limited advancement. Employees with fewer formal qualifications may also be less likely to receive the training that could help them enter another role.
Training decisions vary by occupation, industry, company size and type of work. Workers therefore cannot assume an employer will provide the development needed for a transition.
Temporary jobs can limit training access
A 2026 working paper on Spain’s labor reform examined 3.1 million Indeed job postings published from 2018 through 2024. Before Spain restricted temporary contracts in 2022, training appeared in 3% of postings in occupations that relied most heavily on temporary work, compared with 8% in occupations that relied on it least.
Advertised training later rose by 4.3 percentage points in the more affected occupations, closing the gap by 2024. The results support a connection between longer expected employment and greater investment in training, although they do not prove that contract type outweighs occupation, industry or company size in every labor market.
Workers considering temporary or contract positions should ask whether the employer offers training, certification assistance or a path into permanent employment.
Check the real cost before retraining
A training program should not be the first step in a career change. Workers should first determine what employers require and whether the transition is financially realistic.
Compare current job postings
Review 10 to 15 postings for the target occupation. Note which qualifications appear repeatedly as required and which are only preferred. A state license or degree may determine whether someone can enter the field; a preferred software skill may be learned independently or after hiring.
Identify transferable skills
Compare recurring job duties with work completed in previous roles. A retail manager, for example, may have experience supervising employees, managing schedules, resolving customer problems and tracking budgets. Those abilities may apply to operations, account management, recruiting or office administration.
A résumé and interview response should make that connection clear.
Ask what employers will fund
Ask prospective employers about tuition reimbursement, paid certification courses, mentoring and internal mobility. Find out whether the company provides a development budget, allows work time for courses or reimburses examination and licensing fees.
Documented training assistance should be treated as part of total compensation, not as an informal promise.
Verify the credential and calculate the cost
Confirm that employers recognize the program or certification before enrolling. For regulated work, verify requirements through the appropriate state authority rather than relying only on a school or training provider.
Include examination fees, supplies, transportation, child care, reduced working hours, unpaid supervised experience and a possible lower starting salary in the total cost. Compare that figure with employer reimbursement, available savings and expected entry-level pay.
Turn career-change interest into a workable plan
No single issue explains why workers remain in their current careers. Financial uncertainty, qualifications, starting at a lower level and uncertainty about suitable occupations can all slow a transition. Uneven access to employer-provided training can make those barriers harder to overcome.
Additional education is not always the right solution. Some workers need a formal credential. Others already have relevant experience but need to target a related occupation or explain their transferable skills more clearly.
Before paying for a program, review current job postings, verify licensing requirements and calculate the full cost of the transition. Then separate what you already qualify to do from what an employer may fund and what you would need to complete independently.
