§ Mr. Leightonasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he is satisfied with the level of expenditure by employers on training.
§ Mr. GummerThe White Paper "Training for Jobs" published in January recognised that while a great deal has been achieved to meet the identified national objectives for better training in the last two years, we need to move forward so as to secure the well trained workforce which is an essential condition of our economic survival. Training must be seen as an investment, and the decisions as to who is trained, when and in what skills are best taken by employers and individuals who have to satisfy the need of the market.
If training costs are excessive or if there are unnecessary obstacles, the quantity and quality of training provided will be inadequate, and skill shortages may put at risk our economic recovery. We need to ensure that training is cost-effective and in line with real job needs, which are more important criteria than the level of expenditure alone.
§ Mr. Leightonasked the Secretary of State for Employment what action he is taking to encourage employers to put more resources into staff training and retraining.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonThe Government's strategy is directed towards encouraging industry to assume its proper responsibilities for training. Later this year, we will be launching a campaign to increase awareness of the importance of training. We have already established a number of programmes of pilot projects designed to help employers to develop more effective ways of meeting their skill needs.