Umbrella company contractors and small businesses could benefit from the government’s recently launched Growth and Innovation Fund.
The fund of £50 million a year is designed to help small businesses overcome barriers and grow in the next few years.
Vince Cable, the secretary of state for business, said the coalition realises that to rebalance and grow the economy, it needs to tackle the skills shortages that are holding companies back.
Tom Wilson from unionlearn pointed out that unions have a vital role to play in improving training and skills in the workplace. Union Learning Fund Projects have received investment contributions from 40% of employers and many more have donated things like equipment and office space. Training is essential if the UK is going to be major competitor in the global marketplace and the government is doing the right thing in encouraging companies to improve their employees’ skills.
Paul Davies, the national secretary for engineering construction at the GMB, said employers must apply quickly for funding because very little has been done to develop a highly skilled engineering workforce. It is crucial for the industry to train apprentices because there is plenty of work in the pipeline.
Its pointless employers complaining next year of a skills shortage when they already know that there will be a demand for skilled employees. The government has a responsibility to make sure this happens, he added.
55% of employers say their employees have improved their skills through union-led projects, according to a survey conducted by Leeds University. The survey also discovered that although 40% of employers said learning would continue in the absence of external funding, 28% believed this to be untrue.
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