Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills
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Millions of workers set to benefit from right to request time to train

Millions of workers set to benefit from right to request time to train

DEPARTMENT FOR INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS News Release issued by The Government News Network on 18 June 2008

Denham launches consultation on how new entitlement will work, challenging employers who offer no staff training

The details of how up to 22 million workers in England will be able to use a new legal right to request time to train were outlined today by John Denham, Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills.

Publishing a consultation into how the new right will work, Mr Denham said he expected around 300,000 people a year to receive skills training who otherwise would not as a result of legislation which could be in place by 2010, subject to its passage through Parliament.

One third of employers do not train their staff and eight million employees receive no kind of training at all every year. Ministers believe a legal right to request time to train will help ensure that training is taken seriously by all employers.

Mr Denham said:

"Over the past ten years, the Government has built a strong and stable economy but today we face international challenges affecting the economy as a whole and the lives of millions of people.

"Investment by Government and employers in education and training has played a large part in building economic success in recent years.

"Investment in skills is key to ensuring we come through with a stronger economy and making sure individuals can make the most of their abilities.

"But we have still not persuaded every employer of the importance of skills. A third of employers still don't train their staff. In other organisations training does not involve everyone. The employers who do not train run real risks with their businesses. Public services who do not train will struggle to provide the quality of service that the taxpayer expects.

"We need to find new ways to bring the drive for skills into every workplace and to every worker which is why we are consulting on a new right for workers to request time to train."

It is planned that the new entitlement will apply to all employees who have worked for their employer for 26 weeks. We estimate this will help up to 22 million employees in England. It is proposed that requests should be treated in a similar way to those for flexible working which since its introduction in 2003 has been beneficial to both employees and employers.

Spending by employers on training is rising and estimated at some £38.6 billion a year. The major source of Government funding available to businesses which want to up skill their workforce is the Train to Gain programme. The money available annually through the scheme will rise to more than £1billion a year by 2010.

The Government plans to spend over £3 billion on skills and training in 2007/08. This will rise to £3.6 billion by 2010. Much progress has been made in improving the skills of people across the country with 1.75 million gaining a 'Skills for Life' qualification in basic literacy and numeracy since 2001 and more than one million gaining GCSE-equivalent qualifications since 2002.

Notes to Editors

1. The Time to Train consultation is open to all employers and employees in England and closes on September 10.

2. The right to request time to train was announced by the Prime Minister in his Draft Legislative Programme on May 14. The DLP is available at: http://www.commonsleader.gov.uk/output/page2391.asp

3. The right to request time to train would work by giving employees a legal right to ask their employer to give them time away from their mainstream duties to undertake relevant training, which their employers would be required to seriously consider. The new right would closely follow the legal model of the current right to request flexible working, making it easier for employers to work with the new right using the procedures they already have in place to manage flexible working requests.

4. Employees' requests could be to undertake accredited programmes leading to a qualification, or for unaccredited training to help them develop a specific skill relevant to their job. In both cases, the only requirement would be that training should help improve business performance and productivity. Employers would be required to seriously consider the requests they receive, using the same sort of processes they have in place to manage requests for flexible working. But they would not have to grant a request; they could turn them down where there was a good business reason to do so, including where they did not feel that the training would help improve business performance.

5. Through Train to Gain, employers granting requests for time to train will be able to access Government support and funding rising to over £1 billion by 2010-11 to help them maximise the benefits of 'time to train' for both their employees and their businesses. Equally, the established network of over 19,000 Union Learning Representatives, Skills Accounts and the new Adult Careers and Advancement Service - both of which will begin operating across the country from 2010 - will help individuals to maximise their benefit of the new right for them.

6. Employers who have engaged with the Train to Gain service since it was rolled out nationally in 2006 have reported a range of benefits from their engagement with the service, which provides high quality, responsive vocational skills training for employers. 83% of employers who have engaged with Train to Gain cited improved self-confidence of trainees, 64% cited improved long-term competitiveness, 51% reported some increase in staff productivity, and 42% reported an impact on the bottom line.

7. Lord Leitch concluded in his independent review that to compete and prosper, we need to raise our game on skills, and aim to be a world leader on skills by 2020. He estimated that delivering world class skills could bring net benefit of at least £80 billion over 30 years, driven by increased productivity growth. Lord Leitch's report can be found at: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/independent_reviews/leitch_review/review_leitch_index.cfm

8. Nearly three quarters of the 2020 workforce has already completed compulsory education, so to deliver world class skills it is vital that we encourage and enable adults already in the workforce to improve their skills and gain new qualifications. Although total employer spend on training is estimated by employers to have risen to some £38.6 billion a year, we also know that 33% of employers do not provide any sort of training for their employees, only 35% have a training budget, and around 8m employees receive no training each year. We need all employers to follow the example set by the best.

9. John Denham is speaking at the Unionlearn annual conference. Copies of his speech will be available at http://www.dius.gov.uk

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