BOSTON - BostonChron -- Lynn Bentley, President of Knobull announced, "The main reason employees are looking to leave their jobs within the year is a lack of skills development opportunities. Employees are concerned they lack the skills and education to advance their career and prepare for the future of work."

These findings come from a survey commissioned by Amazon and conducted by Workplace Intelligence. Of 3,000 US employees surveyed across different industries and companies, "around 2 out of 3 employees said it's "extremely" or "somewhat" likely they'll leave their employer within the next year because there aren't enough opportunities for skills development (64%) or career advancement (66%), or because there's no way for them to transition to a different job or a new career path (65%). Gen Z and Millennial employees were even more at risk to jump ship — 74% reported being ready to move on due to lack of skills-building support or career mobility options.

The obvious employer L&D options include tuition benefits for graduate school or an in-house learning and development group that provides onsite training. Your benefit package might include an allowance for hobby classes or a wellness benefit so you could make your hobby something that also advances your career.

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Talk to your manager specifically about next steps for you and who within the company you should meet. These introductions may enhance your network. Go one step further, and organize a mentor program for everyone in your department or at your level.

If you already volunteer for your favorite cause, pick a role that helps you in addition to the cause. Fundraising hones selling skills and stretches you out of your comfort zone, flexes valuable quantitative skills and expands your network.

Consider just a short-term project designed around skills or expertise you'd like to learn. Help an organization you care about with their annual drive, gala or a professional association with its annual conference.

The employees who invest the extra time and initiative to boost their skills will apply that same self-starting energy into a job search. The employees who give up more easily or don't put in the extra effort will stay.

Bentley concluded, "Eventually (hopefully), employers will realize their miscalculation and invest in L&D as a retention tool. You don't have to wait or quit in protest – build your own skills development program, and make your next big move on your own schedule. Build your plan and search skills with the help of a JobStars coach that you can access at our homepage."