More than a third of West Midlands workers are disappointed with their career progress, according to new research.

One in four believe they have been looked over because their bosses don’t have enough funds to pay for them to progress.

The findings, from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) found 37 per cent of those questioned in the West Midlands felt they were further behind in their careers than they would like to be at this stage of their lives.

According to the survey, some employees in the West Midlands believe that they had been overlooked for promotion or a pay-rise in the last year because their employer didn’t have the funds available to pay for them to progress (25%).

Others go further, claiming that their boss is not fighting their corner enough (11%). However, many respondents admitted that they need ed to gain more experience (12%), and that they did not have the right training or qualifications (3%) to advance.

The survey also highlighted employees’ recognition that they need to do more to get ahead in their careers, including working overtime on a regular basis (48%), taking on additional responsibility for no extra money (41%) and studying in their spare time for a professional qualification (44%). Just 4% admitted they would claim a colleagues’ work as their own.

However, despite the fact that over a quarter (27%) of those surveyed in the West Midlands believe that a professional qualification helps an individual’s ability to lead people, teams and projects, just 6% of those surveyed are currently studying for a professional qualification and only 13% plan to do so “in the near future”.

Rob Bennett, CMI’s area manager for the West Midlands said of the findings: “It’s clear that we all recognise the importance of professional qualifications in our career development.”