Report finds lack of confidence in government support for skills

The latest In-Comm Training Barometer, compiled from the opinions of 103 managing directors and HR leads, reveals industry confusion when it comes to understanding what Labour is doing to bridge the gap.

Over three quarters (78 per cent) of firms questioned believe that there is not enough support available to boost their training fortunes (up six per cent on 2024), whilst 61 per cent do not understand what Skills England has been set up to do.

“I think the devil is going to be in the detail and Labour needs to quickly communicate how it is changing apprenticeships and training support,” Gareth Jones, managing director of In-Comm Training said in a statement.

“The issue it faces comes from a lack of standardisation in the skills system through many different governments, regardless of colour. This has created confusion, distrust and a lack of understanding and engagement.”

He continued: “Our firms, who have been battered by inflation, rising energy costs and the impending minimum wage and NIC increases, are struggling to look past the headlines and currently have little confidence that the government is going to be a positive influence in helping it bridge the skills gap.

“A few announcements have already been made that indicate we are in the middle of change, but they’ve been announced before an actual Industrial Strategy has been finalised. There definitely appears to be an increased void between policy and the shopfloor.”

In a first for the In-Comm Training Barometer, less than half (46 per cent) of businesses are planning to increase investment in their training budget.

Two thirds have issued a call to reform the Apprenticeship Levy, with a focus on making sure they have greater control on what they can spend funding on and a definite split between wanting money for apprentices and money for other types of training.

There was an eight per cent increase in the number of companies looking to recruit an apprentice at 69 per cent, with developing future talent, fulfilling a skills gap and upskilling the three main priorities.

In-house infrastructure and access to the right apprenticeship standards continue to be the biggest barriers (26 per cent and 23 per cent respectively) to investing in vocational learning.

Jones said: “It was interesting to see a rise in apprenticeship recruitment intentions this year. This mirrors what we have seen on the ground, with clients slowly releasing the shackles to take people on, underlining the resilience of engineering and manufacturing once more. Whilst its an increase, there is still potential for more.

“Other positive results featured an increase in the desire to improve technology to boost productivity [81 per cent] and firms being able to retain staff, with a quarter struggling to keep workers. Is this a case of the jobs market turning in favour of the employer, new initiatives or firm’s introducing more flexibility and better working conditions?

“The Influence of AI in skills development is still relatively low, with 18 per cent of firms admitting they have used it so far. This will be a slow burn, but we are seeing some of the larger firms embed it into their processes.”

The In-Comm Training Barometer was compiled from the opinions of 103 managing directors and heads of HR.