Firms Still Training Despite Recession

It is commonly assumed that company training is one of the first casualties in times of recession. Falling recruitment, pressures to cut costs and a focus on short-term survival force businesses to put training on the backburner. Expecting the worst, the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES), the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) published an open letter in October 2008 calling on employers not to cut training during the recession. Yet, some economists suggest that an economic slowdown creates opportunities for businesses to up-skill, in order to meet heightened market competition and prepare for the upturn. Moreover, governments in the UK and elsewhere have introduced schemes intended to sustain training during the downturn. What really happened to training in the 2008-09 recession? The authors report on their research, which suggests that the effects were less dramatic than feared. They point out that the recession was expected to deter UK firms from training their staff, but rather than prompting employers to slash training, the downturn has forced companies to concentrate on "must-have" skills and to offer more in-house training to save money. (Contains 2 figures, 2 boxes, and 1 table.)