In his first budget speech on Wednesday, Alistair Darling announced that an extra £60m will be spent on improving skills levels of the country’s workforce.
The speech was scant on detail as to how this would be spent in practice, however he said the government wanted to ensure that every UK adult had the opportunity to access investment in their skills.
The chancellor pledged £60m over the next three years to enable “leading employers” to take on new apprentices.
In a development of the government’s Train to Gain initiative, the investment will provide new opportunities for people to realise their talents, offer adults a second chance to retrain and will be used to test new ways of delivering training.
The Confederation of British Industry said that the move would ensure public funding follows the needs of employers and employees more closely. “The focus must be on developing the economically valuable skills the UK needs to compete,” said Richard Lambert, director-general of the CBI.
“Today’s announcement of additional funding for intermediate skills and adult apprenticeships is welcome, as employers’ skills needs are often at these higher levels.”
The announcement was met with cautious welcome by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).
“CIPD has called for further support for employers taking on apprentices,” said Gerwyn Davies, CIPD public policy adviser. “We are keen to see the detail of the government’s proposals trailed in today’s budget.”
