A trade organisation has called for a specialist training council to be established for the UK's small business insurance customers.
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) claims that a Small Business Sector Skills Council will help firms which employ less than five workers to meet their training needs.
Research carried out by the group found that 88 per cent of small business insurance holders have not taken advantage of the government's Train to Gain initiative because they lack awareness or think they will not qualify.
In addition, 78 per cent of small business insurance customers want government training programmes to look at specialist areas such as IT, health and safety, marketing and other business management skills.
Colin Willman, FSB education and skills chairman, commented: "What we really need is dedicated training for the smallest firms, in the form of a new Small Business Sector Skills Council."
The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills revealed last month that almost 3,000 new apprenticeships have been created through an £11 million investment.
