By Suzanne Caldwell, Contracting & New Business Manager, Business Link for Cumbria
We all recognise the value and importance of training but may not know how to make sure the right training and support is found at the right price.
If businesses are to be successful they need to compete, in order to compete employees need to be trained.
Train to Gain is a new service, launched on 1st August and is based on the Employer Training Pilots (ETPs) which has been running successfully since 2003. Thanks to ETPs, over 27,000 employers have taken advantage of the advice and guidance on offer through the Skills Brokers.
Train to Gain offers advice which is impartial, flexible, responsive and offered at a time and place which suits the business. The purpose of Train to Gain is to help businesses source the training they need to succeed, ensuring that employees have the right skills and abilities to do the best job. Train to Gain offers impartial advice and matches training needs with training providers ensuring that the training delivered meets the needs of the employer.
It is important that businesses and their employees invest in the right skills which will help to achieve greater returns. Many businesses may find it difficult to identify training needs and find a suitable provider to deliver the type of training required.
How can Train to Gain help my business?
There are three ways in which Train to Gain can help businesses:
- Produce a skills needs analysis, this identifies training needs now and in the future. This is produced free by an independent and impartial Skills Broker and helps to pinpoint the type of training that best suits the needs identified.
- Find the most suitable training providers and support services available who will accommodate the type of training identified. Training providers are identified through the skills needs analysis, with the Skills Broker being able to contact the training provider on behalf of the business, design and cost training packages, recommend appropriate training providers, make suggestions regarding other skills and development support on offer.
- Get value for money from training, including help and advice on the best way to pay for any training. Alongside helping access sources of funding, Train to Gain can provide funding itself.
Your Skills Broker provides continual support, reviewing training and how it's progressing.
Funding can include:
- free training to help your employees gain their first, full level 2 qualification
- A wide range of training for low-skilled staff
- The possibility of wage compensation for companies with less than 50 employees - to cover the cost of the time spent in training
- Some funding for training to help employees gain Level 3 qualifications or for non-qualification based training
- Local training funding details.
Benefits of Train to Gain
As a business, Train to Gain:
- Can improve your productivity and competitiveness by ensuring your staff are equipped with the skills they need to do their job
- Provide impartial assessment to identify what skills your business needs now and in the future
- Help you meet your skills needs by helping you choose the most suitable training provider/s
- Help you get the best value for money from your investment in training
The benefits of investing in training can be huge. Investing in your employees allows them to feel valued and will increase satisfaction and motivation. Investing in customer service skills can lead to a more pleasant customer experience which could result in increased sales and higher levels of customer loyalty.
Some interesting facts
- 29% of the UK's workforce are not qualified to Level 2 standard
- 2.4m people in the workforce in England do not have any qualifications
- The UK is one of the largest economies in the world but its prosperity has been constrained by it?s relatively poor skills base
- 85% of 230,000 employees on ETPs were trained on their employer's premises
- Total cost of training to businesses in England is estimated at £33 billion per year
- National Audit Office figures estimate the skills gap costs £10 billion in lost revenue each year or £165,000 for a typical 50 employee business.
For further information on the Train to Gain programme contact Angela Emmerson on 01228 613236 or email aemmerson@businesslinkcumbria.co.uk.
Angela is able to refer your training needs to a Skills Broker. But we don't just want to hear from businesses wanting to invest in their employees, training providers who have training programmes to offer can also register their interest in the programme.