MPs call for simplified training

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The Government was told to place increasing importance on boosting skills to meet the challenges of the current wave of redundancies cutting into British industry.

Training should also be simplified, including a "radical" reform of the Government Train to Gain scheme, said the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee.

The MPs warned that creating a new agency to deal with training for over 19-year-olds could add to "existing confusion" about the provision of skills training.

Committee chairman Phil Willis (Liberal Democrat, Harrogate and Knaresborough) said: "Since Lord Leitch published his review of skills the economic climate has worsened and it is imperative that the Government responds appropriately by making radical changes to its skills policy. We support the skills review and want to see it succeed, but urgent changes are needed if employers and individuals are to get the best out of the system.

"The focus must move away from a mechanistic approach to supplying skills and expecting businesses to respond. The UK workforce's ability to be flexible and have the necessary support in order to adapt to unpredictable economic circumstances is crucial if the economy is to recover and grow.

"The simplistic mantra that by gaining more qualifications skill levels will increase and individuals will become more productive must continue to be challenged."

Skills Secretary John Denham said: "We strongly agree that skills and training are issues of national importance and much has been done to give businesses and individuals the real help they need in these tougher times.

"Further education colleges are training over three million people each year. We are reshaping the Train to Gain budget so that employees are able to retrain and small and medium-sized businesses can easily access short training programmes that will help their businesses today.

"We have also announced new funding of £158 million to retrain people who have lost their jobs, alongside a major expansion of apprenticeships to over 250,000 starts. This is precisely the right time to be reforming the skills system."