Improving Access to Staff Training

Research undertaken by Whitehead-Ross Education and Consulting in West Sussex has revealed that whilst many small businesses access staff training and development opportunities, many feel there is a lack of information and inflexibility to meet their needs.

The research, undertaken by Whitehead-Ross at the Better Business Show, hosted by Worthing and Adur Chamber of Commerce in February, captured data from 79 delegates on voting pads at an interactive exhibition stand.

Delegates responded that 51% invest in staff training and development opportunities, with a small fraction (9%) stating they do not have time to think about it.

In considering the barriers that prevent small businesses from accessing government-funded training programmes, many small businesses (41%) feel they do not know what training is available for their business sector.

Ian Ross, Managing Director of Whitehead-Ross Education, explained “There are many, often competing, skills programmes with complex and rigid eligibility criteria. Small businesses accessing our training programmes often tell us that they only found out about our funded courses by chance as a result of our own marketing.”

“This feedback suggests initiatives, such as the Business Navigators funded by the Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership, need to think about other ways of raising awareness of the support available to the business community, as not all small businesses attend networking and Chamber events.”

“This could involve those government agencies responsible for economic growth in our region better coordinating with local authorities, such as flyers being sent out with annual business rate statements and developing stronger partnerships with high street banks to ensure literature about support available is available in branches.”

Additional challenges identified by small businesses include training programmes not being flexible enough (25%) – something training providers are in control of – and too much bureaucracy (26%) – such as too much paperwork to participate in funded programmes, which acts as a disincentive to access such programmes.

Of the small businesses who participated in the research, microbusinesses accounted for 59% of respondents (1-9 staff) with 9% employing 10-19 staff and 32% employing 20 or more staff.

Ian Ross concluded “According to West Sussex County Council, 84.6% of businesses in West Sussex employ less than 10 people. As the backbone of the local economy, this research gives a brief glimpse into how government agencies and training providers can better support small businesses to access staff training and development.”