Give small firms employee training help says FPB

The Forum of Private Business (FPB) is urging the government to give help to small firms in employment and training after 22 per cent of bosses said they were forced to provide staff with basic skills training themselves because of a lack of external providers.​

Last month hospitality skills council People 1st warned that hospitality-related courses would be affected and some discontinued as the government seeks to rationalise public spending.

Now the FPB is putting pressure on the goverment to put employment and skills 'centre stage' of its enterprise policies in next week's Pre-Budget Report.

The FPB’s policy representative Matt Goodman said: “As we come out of recession, small businesses will seek out new opportunities and begin to take on staff again.

"Further support and better sign-posting will be needed so that they are able to access the skills and training necessary to compete.”

The call comes as 21 per cent of small businesses relying on staff with vocational skills said there was a lack of local providers of courses and 18 per cent said the courses were inadequate.

Research by the FPB also found that the UK's small firms spend almost £2.4 billion per year complying with employment red tape. It proposes a 12 month reduction in National Insurance Contributions for businesses with less than 10 staff looking to recruit new employees and a 5 per cent VAT rate for businesses providing 'labour intensive services'.