The
DfEE has published the results of the Learning and Training at Work 2000
survey. Here are the main findings, taken from the DfEE research brief prepared
by David Spilsbury of IFF Research Ltd.
This
research brief provides results from the Learning and Training at Work 2000
survey of employers on their commitment to employee learning, the management
and delivery of training, the levels of provision of off-the-job training and
on-the-job training, and the awareness of, and involvement with, various
training initiatives. Also included is the cost to employers of providing
job-related training.
Main
Findings
–
The cost of providing training for employers with ten or more employees totals
£23.5 billion per year. This figure is made up of £14.5bn for off-the-job
training and £9bn for on-the-job training.
–
Three quarters of employers (76 per cent) have provided training to their
employees in the 12 months prior to the interview.
–
Two out of five employers (41 per cent) have provided off-the-job training to
their employees in the 12 months prior to the interview.
–
Of employers who provided off-the-job training, 46 per cent reported that some
of the training was leading to a formal qualification. In the 1999 study the
figure was 43 per cent
–
Seven out of ten employers (71 per cent) who had funded or arranged off-the-job
training in the last 12 months had a member of senior management responsible
for training. The 1999 figure was 67 per cent
–
Two-thirds of employers (66 per cent) had provided off-the-job training for
their employees over the past 12 months.
–
NVQs/SVQs are the initiative with the highest level of awareness, with 90 per
cent of employers having heard of them (1999: 86 per cent). Of those who were
aware of NVQs/SVQs, 18 per cent were currently offering the qualification to
one or more of their employees (1999: 16 per cent)
Introduction
The
Learning and Training at Work (LTW) survey was carried out between July and
October 2000 amongst a sample of all employers in England. There were 4,001
achieved telephone interviews, with an overall response rate of 66 per cent. The
study follows on from the first LTW survey which was carried out in November
and December 1999. Comparative results have been provided when relevant. Results
refer to the 2000 study unless otherwise indicated.
Information
pertaining to the costs of training was collected through use of a datasheet. Employers
who had provided training over the previous 12 months were sent a datasheet at
the end of the interview and asked to complete it. They were then recalled by
telephone and the information collected. Because only a small number of data
sheets were obtained from employers with 1-9 employees, it was not possible to
reliably project results from this group up to national estimates. Therefore
data about the costs of training relate to the 711 employers with 10 or more
employees who returned the datasheet.
Prior
to 1999, learning and training information was collected via the Skill Needs in
Britain (SNIB) surveys. The scope of these two surveys is different, therefore
the headline results from LTW cannot be directly compared with the figures from
SNIB. The coverage of the two differs, in particular in terms of including
small employers, but for the subset of the data where there is an overlap
comparative results are provided at the end of this brief.
Provision
of off-the-job training
Employers
were asked whether they had funded or arranged off-the-job training for their
employees, and if so how much and what type. By off-the-job training we are
including all training away from the immediate work position. It can be given
at the employers’ premises or elsewhere. It includes all sorts of courses –
full- or part-time; correspondence or distance learning, Health and Safety and
so on – as long as it is funded or arranged by the employer.
Off-the-job
training had been provided by two out of five employers (41 per cent) over the
previous 12 months. The provision of off-the-job training increased with
increasing size of employer, with 33 per cent of employers with 1-4 employees
providing off-the-job training compared with 98 per cent for those with 500 or
more employees.
Overall,
26 per cent of employees had received off-the-job training over this period. For
those that received off-the-job training, the average was 8.2 days. This
equates to an average of 2.2 days for all employees.
Provision
of on-the-job training
Employers
were asked whether they had carried out any on-the-job training over the past
12 months. By on-the-job training we are including any training given at the
desk or place where the person usually works.
Overall,
66 per cent of employers had carried out on-the-job training in the previous 12
months. Looking at employer size, 59 per cent of employers with 1-4 employees
provided on-the-job training compared with 92 per cent for employers with 500
or more employees. Comparison with off-the-job training reveals that the range
of variation by employer size is smaller for on-the-job training.
Training
by a line manager or supervisor (78 per cent of those carrying out on-the-job
training) and training by other experienced staff in the company (56 per cent)
were the most common methods of providing on-the-job training.
Cost
to employers of providing job-related training
The
response to questions on training costs from firms with fewer than 10 employees
was too low to allow reliable estimates. These were therefore excluded from
analysis and the figures quoted relate to employers with 10 or more employees.
The
total cost to employers with 10 or more employees of providing training over
the previous 12 months was £23.5bn. This figure can be broken down as follows:
Off-the-job
training                                                                              £14.5bn
Of
which – Course related                                                                    £11.8bn
           -Other, e.g. seminars, workshops                                             £2.8bn
On-the-job                                                                                          £9.0bn
Total                                                                                                   £23.5bn
The
cost of providing training averaged over all employees was £1,000. This is
broken down as just over £600 for off-the-job training and £400 for on-the-job
training.
Training
leading to a formal qualification   Â
Of
those employers who had provided off-the-job training over the previous 12
months, 46 per cent reported that some of this training was leading to a formal
qualification (1999: 43 per cent).
NVQs
were the most common single type of qualification to which training was leading
(provided by 46 per cent of those providing off-the-job training leading to
qualifications). However, when taken together, the traditional qualifications
such as RSA, BTEC and City and Guilds were used by slightly more employers (48
per cent).
Management
of training and training delivery
Three
out of five employers (60 per cent) possessed a business plan, two out of five
had a training plan (39 per cent), a quarter had a training budget (27 per cent)
and just under a quarter a human resources plan (24 per cent). The equivalent
figures in 1999 were 55 per cent, 32 per cent, 25 per centand 22 per cent. All
four tools were more likely to be held as formal written documents than as
something less formal. Seven out of ten of employers who had funded or arranged
off-the-job training over the previous 12 months had a member of senior
management with responsibility for training within the organisation. Staff to
design and teach training courses and a separate training facility existed in
32 per cent and 23 per cent of organisations respectively.
Learning
Opportunities and Facilities Available for employees
About
two-thirds (63 per cent) of employers offered at least one of eight nominated
types of learning opportunity. The equivalent figure for 1999 was 45 per cent. Learning
in information technology (43 per cent) and managing their own development (41
per cent) were the most commonly offered. Over a quarter of employers (28 per
cent) helped employees learn skills not directly connected to their job.
Employers
were also asked whether they had staff association or trade union
representation at the establishments, 7 per cent of employers replied in the
affirmative. The figure in 1999 was 8 per cent. In the majority of these
establishments, staff association or trade union representatives were formally
discussing, promoting or directly providing learning opportunities to
employees.
Awareness
of, and involvement with, training initiatives
NVQs/SVQs
are the initiative with the highest level of awareness amongst employers, with
a large majority (90 per cent) having heard of them (1999: 86 per cent). At
least half had heard of Youth Training (63 per cent), Modern Apprenticeships
(61 per cent), New Deal (58 per cent) and NRA (53 per cent). NVGs/SVQs were the
initiative with which the highest proportion of employers had been involved
over the previous 12 months (16 per cent of all employers).
New
Deal recruits were taken on by 5 per cent of employers. Of these, 86 per cent
of employers had taken on a recruit with a subsidy and 26 per cent had taken on
a recruit without, indicating that some had taken on both types of recruits. The
latter figure may be an underestimate as some respondents who have taken on
unsubsidised recruits may not have known that the person had been on New Deal.
Skills                        Â
Of
all employers, 61 per cent believed that the skills required in their average
employee were increasing. A third (33 per cent) felt that they were static and
4 per cent considered that they were decreasing (the remainder did not know). These
figures are very similar to those found in the 1999 study.
Young
employees
Of
those who employed 16-17 year olds, 61 per cent reported that at least some had
obtained a Level 2 qualification. For those employing 18-19 year olds and 20-24
year olds the proportions were higher, at 73 per cent and 75 per cent respectively.
Equivalent figures for a Level 3 qualification were 12 per cent for 16-17 year
olds, 34 per cent for 18-19 year olds and 51 per cent for 20-24 year olds. These
figures are all higher than those found in the 1999 study.
COMPARISONS
WITH PREVIOUS SURVEYS
The
following section looks at a subset of the employers in the in the Learning and
Training at Work surveys to make comparisons with results from the SNIB
surveys, carried out in previous years. The figures below relate to employers
in England only, in all business sectors except agriculture, fishing, hunting
and forestry, with 25 or more employees. Many of the figures for 2000 and 1999
are higher than in the previous section, this is mainly due to the exclusion of
smaller employers.
LTW
surveys cover all employers in England regardless of their size or industry
sector. The scope of SNIB was employers with more than 25 employees in the UK,
in all industry sectors except for those in agriculture, forestry, fishing and
hunting sectors.
Provision
of off-the-job training
The
proportion of medium and large employers providing off-the-job training was
similar in 2000 to the level in 1997 and 1998. In 1999 there were less
employers providing off-the-job training (75 per cent) than in any of the other
years (all above 80 per cent).
Provision
of on-the-job training
In
the 2000 study, 90 per cent of employers reported that they had carried out on-the-job
training in the previous twelve months: the equivalent figures in the 1999 and
1998 studies were 86 per cent and 90 per cent (No data are available for 1997).
Skill
requirements of the average employee
The
proportion of employers who believe that the skills required in their average
employee are increasing was 70 per cent in 2000, compared with 72 per cent in
1999, 68 per cent in 1998 and 69 per cent in 1997.
Copies
of the full report (RR269,) price £4.95, are available by writing to DfEE
publications, PO Box 5050, Sherwood Park, Annesley, Nottingham NG15 0DJ. Cheques
should be made payable to "DfEE Priced Publications".
Copies of this research brief (RB269) are available free of charge from the same
address or by calling 0845 6022260). Research briefs and research reports are
also available on the DfEE website at www.dfee.gov.uk/research