Research: UK Bosses Boost Training To Meet Skills Gap

Bosses in the United Kingdom and Ireland will increase employee training to help meet changing skills needs, according to recent research. One in three employers (32%) are expecting major changes in their skills needs over the next two years, with a further 59% expecting minor changes, according to the Recruitment Confidence Index, a quarterly survey created four years ago by Cranfield University School of Management in Cranfield, England. Almost 90% of employers surveyed said they would prefer to develop skills in-house, and 77% said they would increase the amount of training they offer staff. However, two-thirds said they would need to recruit new skills. "The research implies that employers see themselves investing more in individual employee's development. In a way this is a reaction not just to changing skill needs but also to labor shortages," commented Cranfield Professor Shaun Tyson. In other findings, 90% of employers surveyed said they believe the training they provide has a direct impact on bottom-line business results. Some 1,352 public- and private-sector employers from across the UK and Ireland responded to this survey.