Business training conditions improving, report finds

Date: 10th November 2009

Business owners should invest in upskilling employees in order to boost motivation and productivity in the recession, Ofsted has said.

A review on the impact of the government's Train to Gain (T2G) scheme, which gives UK workers opportunities for getting extra qualifications, has found that the policy is proving largely successful.

However, the investigation also warned that many employees were taking an unexpectedly long time to gain the extra qualifications they were working towards - and that too few were taking more advanced courses after achieving their first certificate.

"T2G continues to improve employees' knowledge and self-confidence at work and many employers report improvements in work practice and staff retention," an Ofsted representative said.

"We have found employers are now more involved in their employees' training and providers are better at improving employees' technical and practical skills."

Figures from the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) show that just under one in five UK adults are currently on some form of learning or training scheme.

People from the ABC1 socioeconomic groups were revealed to be twice as likely to be on a course as those from the DE groups.

Posted by Jacob Williams