21% rise in 2004 finalists as National Training Awards urge UK Plc to keep training

UK training standards rise but still work to be done

The National Training Awards today announced a 21% rise in the number of finalists for its 2004 awards. Nearly 300 finalists from 23 industry sectors, chosen from Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and nine regions across the UK, will take part in the final stages of the awards.

The awards, which are run by UK Skills on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills, reward training and personal development, with both organisations and individuals eligible to enter. Now in their 18th year, the National Training Awards are often viewed as a barometer of the UK’s changing attitudes to training.

Dr Graeme Hall, Acting CEO of UK Skills, commented:

We believe the fact that we’ve had not only more entries, but more finalists this year shows that both prioritization of skills and overall standards of training are becoming significantly higher.

Organisations and individuals in both the private and public sector are acknowledging the increasing need to incentivise workplace training by entering themselves or their employees into awards schemes like ours.

Furthermore, the increase in the number of finalists this year shows that training standards have risen significantly, as more people are meeting the stringent criteria to qualify for the final stages of the awards.

The four areas with the most finalists in 2004 are: Northern Ireland (14%), Greater London (13%), the North West (11%) and the South East (10%).

Compared to 2003, eight areas saw an increase in the number of finalists in 2004. The greatest rise was in Yorkshire and the Humber (91%), with the South East (87%), Northern Ireland (70%) and the North East (60%) following closely behind.

The sectors with the greatest number of 2004 finalists are: education (14%) and manufacturing (12%). Of the remaining sectors, health, banking and insurance, and the voluntary sector follow most closely behind.

Compared to 2003, the sectors that saw the most dramatic rise in the number of finalists this year are: government and its agencies (350% increase); printing, publishing, media and marketing (250% increase); local authorities (133%) and the health sector (128%).

Overall, this year, 54% of entrants are from the private sector, 28% from the public sector and 7% from the voluntary sector.* This represents a 37% rise in private sector entrants since 2003, a 21% increase in public sector entrants and a 14% increase in voluntary sector entrants.

Of the organisations that have reached the final stages of the competition, 61% classify themselves as Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs), with fewer that 250 staff. There has been a 40% rise since 2003 in the number of SMEs reaching the final stages, compared to a 5% rise in companies with over 250 employees. It seems that an encouraging number of smaller companies are committing time and money to training, while larger companies are preserving a steady level of investment.

Dr Hall commented:

While the UK’s workforce has reached an undeniable level of competence, we need to aspire to excellence in order to maintain our position in an increasingly competitive global economy.

Just over a year after the launch of the Government’s Skills Strategy, it’s encouraging to see the rise in the number of finalists. However, there is still more to do before we truly close the skills gap and have a skills base worthy of the fourth largest economy in the world.

Training will help create a more effective, productive and flexible workforce, so our message to UK Plc is: invest in training to gain a true competitive advantage.

2004 National Training Awards finalists include: BT; HM Prison Service; Accenture; the Isle of Man government; National Grid Transco; the Football Association; DEFRA; Transport for London; Walkers Snack Foods; Siemens Business Services; Norwich Union; Cadbury Trebor Bassett; Marriot Hotels; Vodafone and BP International.

The National Training Awards are supported by Investors in People, Learn Direct, the Learning and Skills Council, Skills for Business and Henley Management College.