Small businesses are failing to invest in employee training, according to new research.

In a survey of more than 13,000 employers, over a third of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) admitted they don’t provide training for their staff, rising to 40% for the smallest employers.

The barriers to training include financial cost, with almost 50% of employers put off training because of fears of costs. There were also worries about demands for higher wages and work disruption.

Moreover, 11% of small businesses, in comparison to just 3% of larger businesses, see no benefits to training staff at all.

The UK’s productivity levels are already nine percentage points lower than the EU average and many experts predict they will fall even lower if employers do not develop the skills of their staff.

Mark Fisher, chief executive of the Sector Skills Development Agency, which conducted the research, says: “These are worrying findings for the UK economy. SMEs have not got the resources of larger companies and feel they have less to gain from training staff.”