Sunday Times 27th May 2007

Staff Training Helps Companies

Christine Buckley

Industrial Editor

Smaller companies that do not invest in training are more than twice as likely to go out of business than  those that do, according to new research.

A study commissioned by the Sector Skills Development Agency found a failure rate of 27 per cent among businesses that did not train employees, compared with 11 per cent for companies that had a strong training programme.

For manufacturing companies, the ratio was more stark with a 50 per cent closure rate among those that did not train, compared with 20 per cent for those that did.

The University of Kent conducted the research examining a six year period, looking at 2000 companies with ten or more employees.

Sir Digby Jones, the Government's envoy for skills, said: "This research shows that many companies which have closed down in the past six years could still be in business if they had invested in the skills of their staff. The evidence is clear that the cost of investing in higher-level skills is more than offset by the business benefits to the bottom line".

Sir Digby, the former director-general of the CBI, the employers' organisation, is touring Britain in a 'Skills for Business' roadshow.

The tour is an attempt to demonstrate to individual industries that Britain cannot remain internationally competitive without adequate investment in training.

© The Sunday Times

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