Unskilled staff is a barrier to small business managers taking a break, a new study claims.

Two in five small business managers are failing to use their full holiday allowance, and one in five cited unskilled staff as the key reason.

The findings by the Learning Skills Council (LSC) are more surprising given that nearly all the small businesses recognise training as the key to success; a staggering 43% admit that they should focus more on training.

Of those employers, a quarter say that they don't have time to search for suitable training options, and one in five are bewildered by the range of training available.

Jaine Clarke, national director, Skills for Employers at the Learning and Skills Council said: "Getting skilled is key to our future as a nation in a global economy. It is also key to our future individually as the need to better our own skills is becoming even more evident as competition increases."

Last week, TrainingZone reported on a poll by the LSC which claims that most people envy skills of others over beauty or money.

The surveys mark the launch of a new campaign Our future. It's in our handsby the LSC urging people to take control of their future by investing in skills.