Against the background of CIPD research that highlights employer concern about the quality of training given by the government’s skills agencies, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development welcomes the announcement that employers can develop their own training programmes through accreditation by the Qualifications and Credit framework.

The most recent quarterly CIPD/KPMG Labour Market Outlook report shows that only 23% of UK employers believe that government agency officials are effective ‘skills champions’ – a low rating compared with behind trade union learning representatives (32%) and internal champions (79%).

Meanwhile, only a third of employers with an experience of Train to Gain are satisfied that this initiative meets their business needs.

Martyn Sloman, adviser for learning, training and development at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, comments: “Our research shows that government is right to devolve more responsibility and power to organisations. With a majority of employers reporting that the current skills agencies are not adequately meeting their needs, the government is right to change the policy framework in a way that helps meet business needs.”