Time, not money, is holding back the skills levels of the British workforce, according to a study out today.

John Weston, Chairman of learndirect, has today called on British businesses to make greater use of e-learning to provide greater efficiency in improving staff skills and enabling the UK to remain competitive in Europe and across the world.

In a new take on the "cash rich, time poor" theme which characterises life in Britain, research undertaken by e-learning network learndirect into training trends has shown that training provision within Britain's businesses is suffering due to a shortage not of money, but of time.

Almost half of HR professionals reported an increase in their training budgets over the last 12 months. However seven out of 10 of those questioned believed their employees found it difficult to make time for training and over a third agreed that staff who signed up for training regularly failed to complete the course due to time pressures.

John Weston, at the CBI Conference today, will call upon UK businesses to become more innovative in developing and tailoring training solutions for employees.

"E-learning gives employees the flexibility to learn at their own time and pace, whilst offering employers a training solution that can save both time and money. One size doesn't fit all when it comes to training, but businesses do benefit from a blend of traditional and innovative approaches to training."

According to learndirect research, flexible training is the preferred option for HR directors, both in terms of cost and time management. Over two thirds of HR directors agree that combining e-learning with more traditional methods of training such as classroom teaching and mentoring is a more effective solution to plugging skills gaps than simply increasing budgets.

John Weston said that in order to compete globally, Britain needed to explore new ways to tackle its skills deficit.

"Our research indicates that just throwing money at training isn't going to solve the problem," he added. "Investment in time is just as important as financial resourcing. Only solutions offering staff the chance to learn in a flexible and stimulating way that fits into their daily working lives will lead to course completion and will ultimately reap the overall business benefits that the UK economy needs."