Entrepreneurs 'missing out on skills initiati

People who are self-employed or own their own business are being excluded from skills initiatives and have been left out of the new skills agenda, according to a new report.

A study by the SFEDI backs up calls from the Institute for Employment Studies for the government to ensure that Train to Gain and other schemes reach smaller firms, disabled workers, carers, jobless households and other 'hard to reach' employers and staff.

The business watchdog's report states that schemes such as Train to Gain are not working for small companies with fewer than five employees, Personnel Today reports.

Tony Robinson, SFEDI founder, told the magazine: "Everybody should have the right to the skills to start up or run their own business, especially as we appear to be moving towards the US model, where everyone ends up working for themselves."

An estimated four million people are missing out on valuable skills training as a result of omissions to the government's skills agenda and the self-employed and small businesses are receiving just £50 million of the £550 million allocated annually by ministers to the Learn Direct, Train to Gain and Sector Skills Councils.

Small businesses and entrepreneurs account for more than a quarter of the UK's total workforce and Britain has around 4.3 million small businesses in the UK, with more than 500,000 people starting up their own businesses each year. The Federation for Small Businesses (FSB) estimated that 85 per cent of firms employ less than five people.

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Date:23/07/2007 11:27:24