Businesses advised to invest in training

09:59 29th May 2009

Businesses in the UK should ensure they invest in training opportunities for their employees in order to better prepare them for economic recovery, according to one organisation.

The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) said that 20 per cent of surveyed employers are preparing to scale down their training investment in response to the recession, while 70 per cent are experiencing problems hiring skilled employees.

Prospective employees could be attracted by the possibility of companies offering computer training courses and other skills courses, while it could lead to greater success in the years to come.

Daniel Pedley, public affairs manager for the CII, said: "We believe that investing in training now, during a downturn, will help you come up in a better position when the recovery comes."

Around 40 per cent of employees surveyed by the Work Foundation said they were over-qualified for their jobs, in terms of the skills sets they had, while a similar number said the hours they worked were more or less set in stone.