Contractors urged to invest in staff training

Contractors are being warned that they may soon have to start paying out more for training their workers through an increase in levy. "Employers should stop complaining so much about the skills levels of their staff and spend more on training them," says Brendan Barber, TUC general secretary.

The union chief was introducing a new TUC report entitled 2020 Vision for Skills. This sets out priorities for the Treasury-commissioned Leitch review of national skills needs for the period up to the year 2020. Lord Sandy Leitch is set to publish his final findings in November - coinciding with the government's autumn spending review. In an interim report, Lord Leitch has already highlighted an "urgent need to be even more ambitious" on skills provision. This is thought to herald some radical recommendations in the final report.

The Construction Industry Training Board has been advised that Leitch's conclusions are likely to focus on the appropriate balance of responsibility for training between government, employers, and individuals. And the key question will be whether industry itself should pay more and whether that spells an increase in the statutory level rates. Public sector investment already accounts for a third of the CITB's total income. And levy rates have been frozen at the current level of 0.5% of PAYE wage bill and 1.5% of labour-only payments for the past five years.

Meanwhile, Brendan Barber said: "Despite many government incentives, one in three employers are denying training to millions of workers who need it most. And the government must legislate to make sure that workers get paid time off to train."

[Contract Journal, 13 September 2006, p 5]