Small businesses unaware of training opportunities

Seven out of ten small businesses are unaware of government training initiatives, says a survey.

A report found that nearly 70 per cent were unaware of the training role of the Sector Skills Councils or the Train2Gain scheme.

Awareness of Government training schemes was particularly low among micro firms (0 to 9 employees), with just over 17 per cent aware of the role of the Sector Skills Councils or the Train2Gain programme.

Among small firms (10 to 49 employees), about a third of the respondents were aware of one or both of these initiatives. Medium-sized firms (50 to 249 employees) reported that almost 29 per cent knew about the Sector Skills Councils and over 40 per cent about Train2Gain.

There are 25 Sector Skills Councils, each an employer-led independent organisation that covers a specific sector across the UK, with a view to reducing skills gaps, increasing productivity and improve learning.

Train2Gain pays for employees to undertake qualifications and reimburses companies of less than 50 employees for the time their employees spend training.

The survey also revealed that almost half of small firms conducted no formal training, though this did not exclude informal, on-the-job training.

The quarterly survey was based on responses from over 1,000 smaller businesses. It was conducted by the independent Small Business Research Trust (SBRT), which is sponsored by HSBC Bank.