Responding to the announcement by the Learning and Skills Council of the record level of employer training, Richard Wainer, CBI head of education and skills, has said:

"Annual investment of nearly £39bn is a real terms increase of £3.5bn since 2005, and shows business commitment to training cannot be doubted. Employers recognise that a skilled workforce is increasingly important to stronger productivity and competitiveness, and they are clearly putting their money where their mouth is.

"But while firms will train their staff to do their jobs, it's also vital that individuals arrive at the workplace with the basic literacy, numeracy and employability skills needed to succeed. All too often young people leaving the education system lack these essentials, and too many firms feel they have to try to fix this themselves."

To read news of the LSC announcement go to
Training spend hits record high at £38bn