Unconventional times call for unconventional solutions, but whatever you do, don’t cut training, says Pablo Lloyd, the deputy chief executive of learndirect. On the eve of the publication of the After Leitch select committee report, he makes an impassioned plea for continuing training throughout the recession.

What a difference a couple of years make. At the time of the Leitch review of skills in late 2006, the British economy was buoyant, contained only by the lack of skilled workers needed to keep it growing. Now we find ourselves in the worst global economic downturn since the 1930’s.

Unconventional times
So does the downturn mean it is time to shelve the recommendations of Leitch, much in the same way as the economic golden rule has been shelved? Yes and no: No, because the underlying problems identified by Leitch – poor standards of basic skills (English, maths and ICT) amongst school-leavers; increasing global competition from China and India; a need for a highly-skilled and adaptable workforce – have all been thrown into sharp relief by the current crisis. Yes, because we have new short-term imperatives to help businesses and workers navigate the economic crisis. Unconventional times call for unconventional solutions.

We have already seen some companies and organisations reacting to the downturn with familiar short-term measures – cutting production and their workforce or abandoning training altogether.

"We have already seen some companies and organisations reacting to the downturn with familiar short term measures – cutting production and their workforce or abandoning training altogether."

How to get more for less?
With sales slipping and profits reduced, asking employers to spend on training is a big deal. However, this is often because training providers take a conventional approach to both how this training is to be delivered and to measuring the effectiveness of what is being learned. Most companies will now be operating with a reduced training budget, if they still have one at all, so the challenge for those responsible for training within these organisations is how to get more for less.

Learning while working is the key to changing how training is delivered. Technology allows employers and employees to seamlessly integrate training into the working day, without reducing productivity. Mention technology to most employers though and they will wrongly assume a major investment in hardware and/or software.

Many materials already exist on the web and can be structured in such a way as to fit the specific needs of employers. Another great boon of technology is that it is the perfect silent evaluation tool, working quietly in the background and reporting on progress in detail. Technology alone isn't the whole answer of course, good training relies on good coaching and support. I call it ‘supported elearning’, getting the best out of technology and personal support and encouragement.

Don't cut corners
This is the essence of providing training in the current tough economic climate. If you have to cut costs, don’t assume you have to cut corners.

The issue for almost all employers in the downturn is how to get more out of what they have rather than simply reinvesting over and over again. The workforce is a perfect example of this. Training improves productivity and develops one of the scarcest resources in business – good management. Productivity and good management are even more important in a recession, so the last thing we should do is cut back on training. Certainly, focusing training effort on areas which yield short-term benefits is fair enough but don’t cut back.

Efficiency & effectiveness
By using training to sharpen the skills of your existing workforce, you can make sure the people you already employ deliver more value in terms of sales, efficiency and effectiveness. That means you are more competitive not just during, but after the recession too. Most training in this country is still based on work-shadowing rather than carefully thought-out progression. Any company planning to survive the downturn should think about progression for its workforce and look for the most cost-effective means of implementing it, including government support.

Employees themselves have a vested interest in working with their employer to ensure the financial health of their organisation, but also to ensure that if the worst happens they remain employable. Furthermore, the government is planning to make it easier for employees to ask for training from 2010.

Boom or bust
Whether we're booming or busting, highly-skilled workers will still be in greater demand than those without skills. This is the growing trend predicted by Leitch, reflected in the already diminished demand for low or unskilled labour in all developed economies. Twenty years ago, driving a lorry required only skills directly related to the job – the ability to drive and perhaps to read a map. These days, most haulage companies use onboard computer systems, GPS, stock control technology, and any other range of gadgetry, which is constantly being updated and its capabilities expanded.

So the business case for training and development might have different outcomes in a tough market, but it remains strong. The government targets intended to make the UK a skills leader by 2020 may look irrelevant in the current climate, but there are sound economic principles in investing in training both for the short and long term. In the downturn, any business that ignores these principles does so at its own peril.

Pablo Lloyd is the deputy chief executive of learndirect

Read a previous opinion piece by Pablo: 21st Century skills urgently required

The After Leitch select committee report - which examines progress in plugging the skills gap since Lord Leitch made his original recommendations two years ago – is due to be published on Friday 16 January.