Report warns of considerable dissatisfaction amongst training professionals

A new report commissioned by permanent recruitment specialist, GPRS Recruitment, reveals that a majority (56%) of qualified professionals employed by businesses providing training in the workplace would consider moving to another employer, while a quarter (26%) believe they could earn more working elsewhere. Other key findings point to the reasons for this widespread dissatisfaction: 81% of those surveyed receive no regular performance related bonus, 19% have received no pay increase in the past 18 months, and 40% said that their salary reviews are currently on hold.

Worse still, when it comes to training the trainers some British businesses are falling short. 31% of qualified NVQ assessors and verifiers surveyed have funded their own training and qualifications, whilst 25% have not been provided with work based training or induction by their current employer.

The findings come from a nation-wide salary and benefits survey of more than 4,000 work-based learning and further education professionals - the first of its kind in the UK. The results reveal key regional salary and benefit trends, and provide statistical evidence to explain why staff retention is such a challenge in the sector.

The regional differences in the report are striking: 83% of those surveyed in the northern region thought they could earn more with another employer, compared to 64% in the central region and just 28% of those in the southern region.

These perceptions are borne out by the report's salary findings, with northern respondents earning the least in all the positions surveyed, followed by their peers in the central region, with southern training professionals coming out top for pay.

And regional differences are more pronounced at the top of the salary scale: training directors in the south earned an average of 6k more than their northern peers, with their average annual bonuses also trumping those awarded in the north by more than 5k.

Some northern professionals at the lower end of the pay scale, however, bagged bigger annual bonuses: NVQ assessors and skills tutors both received more on average than their peers further south.

The freeze on salaries also seems to be disproportionally affecting northern training professionals. The majority (57%) of those surveyed in the north will not have their salaries reviewed in the foreseeable future, compared to 36% in the central region and 28% in the south.

However, when it comes to benefits, professionals in the north come off better, with more than half (52%) reporting that they receive a pension contribution from their employer, compared to a third (32%) of those surveyed in the central region and only a quarter (24%) of those in the south.

Commenting on the findings, Debra McCallum-Cleghorn, Head of Staffing at GPRS Recruitment, said: This survey should provide a wake-up call to work based learning organisations both small and large. Many companies focussing on NVQ achievement are under-supporting their staff regarding training and benefits, and the findings crystallise the need for re-alignment of salaries, specifically with regard to bonuses, if companies want to not only recruit but retain the best talent.

Investing in the training professionals that comprise your workforce makes good business sense - remaining competitive when it comes to staff skills is crucial during the downturn, and firms that stayed on track with staff learning during the last recession emerged in a stronger position than those that cut back.