The National Council for National Training Organisations (NTO National Council) has declared its support for the governments plans to undertake a comprehensive review of the way that NTOs are currently structured and organised.

The decision to begin the major review, which will look at the purpose and workings of all of the 73 NTOs currently representing the majority of employment sectors in the UK, was announced last month by Lifelong Learning Minister Malcolm Wicks, who said he expected a smaller but stronger network to emerge from the process.

The NTO network was formed in May 1998, replacing the Industry Training Organisations formed in the 1980s. In the last year or so there have been concerns about the effectiveness of some of the sector representatives - the NTO tele.com went into receivership at the end of last year after a contracted training provider went bust, leaving the Department of Education and Employment with a £10 million liability.

In response to the start of a series of consultation events yesterday, the NTO National Council's Board issued the following statement:

"We wish to engage positively in the consultation concerning the restructuring of the NTO movement. We acknowledge there is a need for change, and believe that change should respect the different nature of industry and employment sectors and that one format will not meet the needs of every sector. NTOs need to be adequately resourced to meet the needs of both their sectors and governments. We are developing specific proposals to take to government following consultation with the NTOs."

The NTO National Council has set up a number of discussion forums for NTOs to use to highlight their views on the consultation process. The series of consultation events organised by the Department for Education and Employment are also running around the UK.