2009-06-03

By Editor, CIR

The UK's smallest businesses are missing out on training schemes, claims the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

The FSB is calling for the setting up of a Small Business Sector Skills Council that will focus on the needs of micro-firms. It says that firms with fewer than five employees are being excluded from government-run training schemes, and struggle to take advantage of the Train to Gain scheme.

Train to Gain aims to help businesses develop the skills of their staff, but many small firms are unaware subsidised training is on offer and most sole traders wrongly believe they do not qualify to apply for training, an FSB survey finds.

Although a GBP350 million pot of money was announced last spring for the hardest to reach small businesses -- which tend to be at the micro end -- 88% of firms canvassed by the FSB said they had not taken up an offer of training through Train to Gain, while 78% said the scheme needed to be more flexible.

Respondents identified the need for training on issues specific to small firms, including leadership and management for businesses with fewer than five employees, and specialised technical and business skills areas that micro businesses operate in. There was also interest in areas such as IT, health and safety, responding to tenders and sales and marketing.

"The Government must start to recognise the needs of the country's smallest businesses, especially during this crucial time when firms need to be investing in skills and training so that they can emerge stronger as they pull the economy out of recession," said Colin Willman, the FSB Education and Skills chairman.

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