IoD: regulation impeding investment in UK training
SKILLS shortages in the workforce are holding back 58 per cent of UK businesses, a survey revealed today.
And high taxes, burdensome regulations and misguided government projects are deterring companies from investing in skills, the Institute of Directors (IoD) said.
“Businesses want to invest in training, and they would invest even more if the government improved the business environment by removing excessive employment regulations,” said the IoD’s Miles Templeman.
Programmes such as Time to Train actually make it harder for companies to offer training opportunities to their staff, the IoD said.
Some 63 per cent of directors say the programme has imposed more red tape, while over one in ten will remove training discussions from appraisals due to problems created by the scheme.
Yet almost a third (31 per cent) of employers are struggling to fill vacancies due to a lack of skills among applicants, the survey reported.
And even worse is the “skills gap” – a lack of skills among current employees. Almost half (47 per cent) of directors said some of their staff lacked the necessary skills needed to do their jobs properly.