Now is the time to think about training

Anna Scott

One of the first things to be cut from employers’ HR budgets during economic difficulties is training. The most recent recession has been no different.

Recent research from IPPR and JP Morgan has found that UK businesses suffered a drop in training four times greater than any other European country since 2008.

Further analysis by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills has found that only two in three employers provided any training whatsoever and the annual total they spent on this had fallen by £2.4bn since 2011.

This has led assessment consultancy a&dc to voice concerns that this sharp drop in training puts organisations at risk of “stagnating, losing top talent and falling behind the competition”. In fact, the UK could have a skills deficiency that threatens to hold back its recovery.

Anyone with a working knowledge of employment and HR practice know that training is vital to recruit and retain employees. Recruiters in particular are perfectly placed to demonstrate not just this, but also precisely where the skills shortages lie in the UK economy.

But for companies struggling to stay afloat over the last six years – particularly SMEs – it has been unthinkable to spend scarce resources on upskilling workers who they may not be able to hang onto in the long term anyway.

Nevertheless, now that the economy is recovering, more organisations will need to utilise training now to get the most from their talented emploess, a&dc says.

But it can’t just be up to employers themselves. Now that the government has invested in further education colleges to provide more apprenticeships, this section of the education sector has a big responsibility to provide the rights skills for the workforce in various sectors.

Universities too, will need to play a role in aligning more with employers to ensure the skills graduates are leaving with are appropriate for the workplace.

It will also be important for recruiters to remember that now the jobs market is picking up, career development is increasingly the reason particularly talented employees decide to move on.