You mentioned in your September issue of Training and Coaching Today that less than one in four adults spend their own money on training. I can’t say I’m surprised by this.
Many will be getting the training and development they need free of charge at work. And many will be put off paying for their own training because it can be so expensive. For example, fees for night school courses have rocketed in recent years as the government has switched subsidies to training and education for younger people.
If the government wants to encourage adults to spend more on their own training, it really should offer tax relief on fees.
Of course, with the huge deficits run up by Gordon Brown when he was chancellor, the chances of this happening are not so much slim, as anorexic.
Gary Jones
Learning and development adviser,
Chester
