Investment in employer training reaches record level

Firms in the UK spent £38.6 billion on training last year, a record level, the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has said.

The figure was revealed in the National Employer Skills Survey 2007, which showed that the total training spend was 16 per cent higher than in 2005.

In real terms, this represents a £3.5 billion increase after inflation has been taken into account.

The survey also suggested that the extra investment is having an effect on skill levels. According to the report, the proportion of vacancies that couldn’t be filled due to a skills shortage dropped from 25 per cent in 2005 to 21 per cent in 2007.

Taking in some 79,000 employers and providing the most comprehensive analysis of skills in England, the survey found that 67 per cent of the country’s businesses devoted a total of 218 million days training their workforces.

The average amount of money spent per employee on training climbed 11 per cent from £1,550 in 2005 to £1,750 in 2007.

Commenting on the survey, Richard Wainer, the CBI’s head of education and skills, said: “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.”

However, Mr Wainer warned that employers should not be expected to carry the burden of remedying the shortcomings of the education system.

He said: “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.”