According to a new report by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) more than one in three employers refuse to train their workers resulting in 8.5 million workers missing out on development opportunities.

This is despite government incentives to help them, says 2020 vision for skills which suggests that the only way to resolve the skills crisis is through investment by the Government and employers, provision of statutory time off for workers to train and giving unions and workers a stronger voice in workplace skills bargaining.

By far the worst region, according to the report, is the West Midlands where nearly one million of the workforce go untrained. While the North East has the best record with 30% going without training.

Brendan Barber, TUC Secretary General said: “Employers should stop complaining so much about the skills levels of their staff and spend more on training them. Despite many government incentives one in three employers are denying training to millions of workers who need it most.

“And the government must legislate to make sure that workers get paid time off to train. Britain's unions are already working in partnership with large numbers of employers, through their army of 14,000 union learning representatives, to reskill their workforces. Government investment has helped this process and it must be increased.”

The report is published ahead of an independent review of skills needs for 2020, conducted by businessman Lord Leitch. His findings are expected to be released in November.