A decline in employer training over the past decade means workers get 20 million fewer training days each year than if training had stayed at 2011 levels, a new report from the Learning and Work Institute reveals.
It also shows UK employers invest less per employee than many other countries, and just increasing the average spend per trainee to the EU average would see UK workers benefiting from an extra £6.5 billion investment each year.
The Learning and Work institute is calling on the government to take action to reverse falls in employer investment in training so that the UK’s economic recovery from the pandemic can be sustained. Training fell most sharply in sectors like retail and hospitality, where productivity is lowest, it adds.
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According to the research, which has been produced with the support of NOCN, there are stark disparities in who can access training at work, with those with a degree-level qualification four times more likely than to those with no qualifications. That means 1.2 million people who don’t have a GCSE-equivalent qualification are missing out on training each year because employers are less likely to invest in them than those with degrees, says the Learning and Work Institute.
The decline in employer training
Stephen Evans, chief executive of the Learning and Work Institute, said: “The best employers know that investment in their staff is key to success. But employers’ investment in training has fallen over the last decade and the lowest paid and those with the fewest qualifications are most likely to miss out. This is holding our economy back and limiting people’s life chances, and the government needs to do more to change this. This report should be a clarion call for greater action to increase investment in skills and level up opportunity.”
Graham Hasting-Evans, chief executive of NOCN, said: “As a progressive educational charity with a social rather than commercial purpose, NOCN is focused on skills investment across all sectors and groups in the UK and internationally. Learning and Work Institute’s new report highlights not only how the pandemic has affected investment in training but also identifies pre-pandemic issues of inequality and declining employer investment for skills. Skills investment from employers and the government is critical to ‘building back better’ from the pandemic and reducing inequalities in access to workplace learning. We look forward to continuing to support Learning and Work Institute with their research into possible reforms to the apprenticeship levy and taxation systems to help boost employer investment in skills and provide sustainable economic growth.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We have put reforming skills at the heart of our plans to recover from the pandemic. To help employers to create more opportunities, we have increased our incentive for those who take on an apprentice to £3,000. We are continuing to invest in education and skills training for adults, including community learning, through the adult education budget (AEB) (£1.34 billion in 2020-21). The government is also investing £2.5 billion in the National Skills Fund, which will help adults to train and gain the valuable skills they need to improve their job prospects.
“The Free Courses for Jobs offer gives an estimated 11 million adults in England who are 24 and over and do not yet have A levels or equivalent qualifications the opportunity to take their first level 3 qualification for free. There are around 400 qualifications on offer ranging from engineering, social care and accounting. Adults who take up the free courses have the potential to boost their career prospects and wages, while supporting the economy and building back better.”
