CMI: Training should remain priority during recession

13:00 8th April 2009

Training should remain a corporate priority during the recession even if operational budgets have to be reduced, according to an expert organisation.

The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) said that training remains one of the best ways to get the most out of employees and to ensure a company is in a strong position in the current climate.

Programmes such as IT training and database administration courses could help make employees' jobs more secure in the short-term, while also boosting long-term prospects, both for individuals and corporations.

Ruth Spellman OBE, chief executive of the CMI, said: "Project teams can be cross-functional, giving people exposure to others' ways of working and enabling them to pick up skills from wider areas of the business."

She added that investing in alternative forms of training could bring additional benefits as well as being more cost-effective.

Nearly 60 per cent of employers are concerned about their employees' IT skills, according to a report from CBI/Nord Anglia.