Train and gain or snooze and lose

Dwindling levels of investment in training must rise this year if UK employers are to remain competitive on a global basis as the economy starts to emerge from recession, an expert has warned.
 

According to the National Employer Skills Survey (NESS) for England undertaken among 79,152 organisations and commissioned by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills during March and July last year, the number of employers experiencing skills gaps rose to 19% in 2009 compared with 15% two years ago.

Such skills gaps were most common among so-called lower level occupations, with 9% of elementary staff and 10% of sales and customer service staff described as lacking in proficiency compared with only 6% of professionals and managers.

But despite the worsening situation, the proportion of employers providing some form of staff training or development has remained stable at just over two thirds in the last couple of years.