Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Latest NewsEconomics, government & businessLearning & developmentSkills shortagesUK Commission for Employment & Skills

Skills open letter calls for commitment to training despite downturn

by Amy Riley 23 Oct 2008
by Amy Riley 23 Oct 2008

Industry leaders have called on UK employers to commit to training their employees in spite of the deteriorating economy.

In an open letter published in many national daily newspapers, senior figures including CBI director-general Richard Lambert and Marks & Spencer chairman Sir Stuart Rose warned that cutting staff training budgets was a “false economy”.

They insisted that investment in staff skills would strengthen businesses for when the economy improved.

The letter was also signed by Sir Michael Rake, chairman of BT Group and the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) Mervyn Davies, chairman of Standard Chartered bank and Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

It read: “Investing now in building new skills will put us in the strongest position as the economy recovers. From our experience in previous downturns, it was the businesses that did invest in their staff that saw the most dynamic recovery.”

UKCES was launched in April 2008 to help enforce the recommendations of the 2006 Leitch Report, which called for all employers to train their staff to Level 2. In the report, Lord Sandy Leitch recommended that if not enough employers had signed the voluntary skills pledge by 2010, the government should make skills training a legal requirement.




Amy Riley

previous post
Northern Rock staff in line for bonus bonanza if payback targets are hit
next post
Recruitment market collapse confirmed as record number of firms go bust

You may also like

Top 10 HR questions June 2025: Redundancy consultation

2 Jul 2025

Aircrew with cancer pursuing MoD for compensation –...

2 Jul 2025

Living wage pushes up spring pay settlements

2 Jul 2025

Third in north west fear ill health will...

2 Jul 2025

Government publishes ‘roadmap’ for Employment Rights Bill

2 Jul 2025

Four-day working: ‘We need to start treating people...

2 Jul 2025

Why bosses must set pay independently

2 Jul 2025

Ethnicity and disability pay gaps: Ready to report?...

1 Jul 2025

Government moves swiftly on immigration reform

1 Jul 2025

One in eight senior NHS managers from black...

1 Jul 2025

  • Empowering working parents and productivity during the summer holidays SPONSORED | Businesses play a...Read more
  • AI is here. Your workforce should be ready. SPONSORED | From content creation...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+