Now is the time to invest in skills! - plea from UK business bosses

Some of the UK’s most senior businessmen and union leaders have rallied together urging UK businesses not to cut staff training and development budgets as the economic climate continues to put pressure on businesses to reduce costs. In an open letter published in the national newspapers this week respected figures such as Sir Stuart Rose, Chairman Marks and Spencer and Richard Lambert, Director General of CBI and Sir Michael Rake, Chairman of BT group plc have stressed the importance of sustaining and possibly increasing investment in training as this is the time when it is needed most. 

Courtesy of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills

In an economic downturn, there is always a temptation for businesses – large and small
– to cut spending on staff training. When times are tough, it looks a simple way to
cut costs. But it’s a false economy. Research in 2007 confirms that firms that don’t train are 2.5 times more likely to fail than those who do! Now is precisely the time to keep investing in the skills and talents of our people. It is the people we employ who will get us through.

When markets are shrinking and order books falling, it is their commitment, productivity and ability to add value that will keep us competitive. Investing now in building new skills will put us in the strongest position as the economy recovers. Skills to support the development of new products and services will shape whether we are ready to gain competitive advantage when growth resumes. From our experience in previous downturns, it was the businesses that did invest in their staff which saw the most dynamic recovery.

Even in these difficult times, there are real opportunities we should seize. In many
businesses, it will be easier to find the time to release staff for training. Larger businesses could strengthen their supply chains by developing training in partnership with suppliers. For individuals, committing to training is the best way to maximise future employment opportunity. And there is a wide range of training available now for businesses to use from colleges, universities and training providers, many of them publicly funded.

Through the work of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, employers are
making sure that this training is simple to access, clear and easy to use, and adds
real economic value. The skills of our people are our best guarantee of future prosperity – and the best investment a business can make in challenging times. We must not pay the price of failing to invest in the talent on which our future will be built.

The open letter can be viewed on

http://www.ukces.org.uk/pdf/Now%20is%20%20press%20ad%20FINAL%20-%20E%20W%20NI%20D%20081022%20(2).pdf