Staff training and learning 'essential' for employers

Date: 18th September 2008

Businesses that wish to remain competitive must invest financially in training, an expert has advised.

The statement comes on the back of the Deloitte's annual report in entrepreneurship, which found that 31 per cent of firms in the UK identified a lack of quality staff on the payroll as being a barrier to growth.

An advisor at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has said that the UK has a long way to go in terms of catching up with economies such as India, which provide better employee training.

Martyn Sloman, learning and development adviser at the CIPD, said: "Organisations compete through the knowledge and skills of their staff."

By training employees, firms are "providing the staff the opportunity to deploy them[selves] effectively. Therefore, an investment in relevant knowledge and skills for staff is essential."

Research by Deloitte also found that 76 per cent of businesses, such as limited companies, measure growth in terms of revenue and profitability.