In 2008, learndirect published Nurturing Talent in conjunction with Cranfield School of Management.
It showed that, despite the worsening economic context at the time, organisations still believed in investing in their employees’ development and in “growing their own” talent, as well as recruiting skills from the external labour market.
The report demonstrated that, not only was the internal development of talent perceived to be cheaper than the recruitment of the required skills and experience, but also this approach had allowed some organisations to survive previous economic downturns by creating a skilled, committed and motivated workforce.
Nurturing Talent: building the workforce of the future takes a look at how things have changed five years on. In particular it looks at the current issue of youth unemployment and discusses the barriers to employing younger workers, skills development amongst young people and how apprenticeships can help tackle these issues.
The report draws on the results of a recent survey amongst UK businesses and outlines a number of recommendations for ensuring we reach the ambitious goals set out in the Leitch report by 2020.