Time to Train program little use to SMEs
Filed under: Small business — Alan @ 3:14 am
The Time to Train program promoted by the government may not be beneficial for workers of the medium or small businesses (SME’s).
If a company has had more than 250 employees as of April 2010 those working for these companies have had the legal right to ask for training. Yet this has not be enacted for the private sector fully yet.
Ministers are dragging their heels even longer trying to predict the full implications of applying the same policies to SME workers. The minister of further education, skills, and lifelong learning, John Hayes, said “This is critical to people and our economy that each person have training available. However, there is a fine line between putting too many restrictions on SME’s and providing for training. We are hesitating only so we can more fully study the ramifications of these new regulations being expanded to SME’s.”
Not everyone is happy with the decision to wait. The Trades Union Congress has criticised the government for thinking twice about opening the door to SME’s for Time to Train. Brendan Barber, general-secretary said, “Our skills focused approach is being undermined with this hesitation.” He indicated that the program was needed because only a third of companies ask their employees to train for new skills and SME’s try not to think about it at all.
The Time to Train program promoted by the government may not be beneficial for workers of the medium or small businesses (SME’s).
If a company has had more than 250 employees as of April 2010 those working for these companies have had the legal right to ask for training. Yet this has not be enacted for the private sector fully yet.
Ministers are dragging their heels even longer trying to predict the full implications of applying the same policies to SME workers. The minister of further education, skills, and lifelong learning, John Hayes, said “This is critical to people and our economy that each person have training available. However, there is a fine line between putting too many restrictions on SME’s and providing for training. We are hesitating only so we can more fully study the ramifications of these new regulations being expanded to SME’s.”
Not everyone is happy with the decision to wait. The Trades Union Congress has criticised the government for thinking twice about opening the door to SME’s for Time to Train. Brendan Barber, general-secretary said, “Our skills focused approach is being undermined with this hesitation.” He indicated that the program was needed because only a third of companies ask their employees to train for new skills and SME’s try not to think about it at all.
To further prove the detachment the small business community feels from government these days, a Forum of Private Business study has revealed that a majority (89 per cent) of small businesses believe that the coalition government does not understand its impact upon the small business community.