Learning and Development News

Employer training spend hits record high

By Sue Mennell (07-05-2008)
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Learning and Development News - Employer training spend hits record high

Results of the National Employer Skills Survey 2007 released by the Learning and Skills Council today (Wednesday 7th May 2008) reveal employer spending on training is up while vacancies caused by a skills shortage are down.

The results show that employers spend a massive £38.6 billion a year on training. That’s a rise of 16 per cent since 2005 and equates to 218 million training days. In the same period, the average training spend per employee has risen by 11 per cent to £1,750.

For around 5 per cent of employers the positive result is a drop to 21 per cent in the number of vacancies that can’t be filled due to a shortage of skills down from 25 per cent in 2005.

The survey, which was conducted amongst 79,000 employers, shows a clear understanding of the need to boost skills in order to remain competitive in a global market.

This is reflected by a rise in take-up of the government’s Train to Gain initiative which has helped 78,000 employers since its launch in August 2006.

Overall, feedback on Train to Gain is positive. Around 80 per cent of employers and employees are satisfied with the advice and training provided by the scheme and would either use it again or would recommend it to someone else.

One of the great successes of Train to Gain is its ability to reach those people who might not normally have access to training, for example, black and ethnic groups and employees aged over 46, where take-up has been 12 and 31 per cent respectively.

Chris Banks, Chairman of the Learning and Skills Council said: “These findings are extremely encouraging. Never before have so many employers invested so much in staff training their workforce. Employers are clearly seeing that training is helping to shape the future of their businesses and is the solution to their skills needs. The challenge now is to encourage more employers to invest in their staff in this way, so that we can close the skills gap further.

“It is also clear that employers need more advice and support about how to spend their training budgets more effectively.  That’s where Train to Gain can help. It provides employers with a wide range of skills support from advice on how to make the Skills Pledge through to taking on an apprentice. Through Train to Gain, businesses can receive the help they need so they can reap the full benefits of their investment in training their workforce.”

Responding, Richard Wainer, CBI Head of Education and Skills, said: "Annual investment of nearly £39bn is a real terms increase of £3.5bn since 2005, and shows business commitment to training cannot be doubted. Employers recognise that a skilled workforce is increasingly important to stronger productivity and competitiveness, and they are clearly putting their money where their mouth is.

"But while firms will train their staff to do their jobs, it's also vital that individuals arrive at the workplace with the basic literacy, numeracy and employability skills needed to succeed. All too often young people leaving the education system lack these essentials, and too many firms feel they have to try to fix this themselves."

 

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