There are a large number of small companies offering training services to industry, and these are heavily concentrated on licence acquisition for drivers of large goods vehicles (LGVs) and other operators of equipment such as fork-lift trucks. Much of this training is of short duration tailored to employers’ needs for compliance with legislation and regulations.
Many of the private training firms have become very adept at identifying and responding to the immediate needs of employers. What they offer is flexible but it is compliance-driven, and its contribution to productivity improvement is a secondary consideration for most users.
There are strong feelings among companies that training provision:
- is not demand-led
- reflects what individual providers (at all levels) are able to supply
- is often not relevant or is out-dated
- is offered spasmodically when individual funding initiatives are in place
- is not offered consistently across the UK
What now then?
- Moving employers away from ad-hoc purchases of training and towards Continuous Professional Development.
- Implementation of a national provision model which will ensure consistency and relevance across the UK.
- Ensure that training providers are driven by demand, not expediency.
- Ensure that employers have a vehicle for the expression of their demands to the supply industry.
- Placing increased focus on training delivery rather than just outcomes.
