Denham launches 200m skills training

20/05/2008

John Denham, secretary of state for innovation, universities and skills, has launched a £200 million initiative to increase short-term skills training.

The investment will go to specialist training colleges that focus on construction, IT, finance, science and engineering skills.

Mr Denham hopes the scheme will help reduce the country's reliance on foreign labour, because, he commented: "People can go as quickly as they come."

The recently published national employer skills survey, 2007, has revealed training spending reached £38.6 billion last year, an increase of 16 per cent since 2005.

However, Mr Denham said much of it is focused on longer-term objectives. He told the Guardian yesterday: "We are making a lot of progress, but the fact is too much of our skills training is based on a hope that employers will train people in the skills the economy will need in the medium term."

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