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Resources
Learning lessons
Gareth Jones unpicks the results of In-Comm ’ s latest Training Barometer
The last 12 months have been dominated by global pressures outside of industry ’ s control , with a cocktail of difficulties , ranging from supply chain disruption in the Suez Canal and conflicts in Europe and the Middle East , to far reaching political uncertainty .
Rising inflation has been another key concern for businesses , so one of the most striking elements of our fourth In-Comm Training Barometer is that just 16 percent of firms feel it is having a negative impact on their training spend .
In my opinion , this shows an overwhelming desire by our sector to support the continued development of apprentices and to address the burning issue of skills , making sure that a lack of talent – both now and in the future – is not a barrier to UK manufacturing making the most out of the recent resurgence .
Encouragingly , seven out of ten management teams say they are not struggling to retain staff , with more than three quarters investing in new technology to boost productivity ( an eight percent rise on last year ’ s report ).
This finding reinforces some anecdotal information our training advisors are hearing , especially around businesses admitting they are looking at new tech to drive efficiencies rather than trying to secure a new skillset .
Mixed picture
There has been plenty of debate about a disjointed national training picture that isn ’ t aligned for industrial needs , and this is evident in our report .
Seventy-two percent of companies believe that there isn ’ t enough national Government support for training , with 44 percent wanting better funding for apprenticeships and 39 percent upskilling – this would serve both newcomers into the sector and the requirement for more flexible workforces .
We believe there is some disparity with the local picture , which is a lot more optimistic and responsive to employer needs . The prime example here is a funding boost we received from the West Midlands Combined Authority ( WMCA ) to support the introduction of more modularized training , helping overcome the issue of releasing staff from core operations – seen as the biggest barrier to training .
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