The Government is considering paying employers’ National Insurance
contributions for staff taking part in basic skills training.
The proposal, which is part of the DfEE’s £1.5bn programme
to tackle poor literacy and numeracy, was unveiled today by education and employment
secretary David Blunkett.
At a Downing Street briefing this morning, Blunkett
explained that pilot schemes will be run to test whether giving grants to
employers to compensate them for National Insurance contributions will help
them to encourage employees to undertake basic skills training.
The measures will be tested in nine ‘pathfinder’ areas,
including Liverpool, Leeds, Birmingham, East London and Cambridgeshire.
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