16 May 2003
Ministers must come up with more funds for employer-led education and training or British productivity will continue to suffer, trade union bosses warned this week.
The Trades Union Congress, responding to a government consultation paper on the country's alleged skills shortage, urged ministers to extend employer training pilot schemes.
The government sees employer-based education and skills regimes as a method of raising British productivity. Some training pilots have seen companies work alongside trade unions and education bodies to successfully bring employees up to NVQ level 2 standards.
'The government should consider offering incentives to both employers and individuals to encourage a greater take-up of learning,' the TUC submission states. Brendan Barber, TUC general secretary, added: 'More needs to happen if the skills levels of our workforce are going to improve rapidly.'
The CBI, the business lobby that has described the skills shortage as a 'national disgrace', backed calls for more employer-led education.
PFmay2003
