Any shake-up to the way training and education is delivered should be focused on meeting the concerns of employers, one industry body has claimed.
Nick Palin, director of human resources at the Forum of Private Business (FPB), believes that despite an injection of £15 million into the Train to Gain scheme, many SMEs still feel they will miss out.
He said: "The FPB has been campaigning extensively for better work-based training in the UK.
"The government and educational institutions appear to be taking this advice on board."
It also vital that the education system creates people with basic literacy and numerical skills so they are able to provide the UK with an effective workforce, he added.
Any extra funding should be used to train young people in the skills that employers value most, Mr Palin stated.
Yesterday, skills minister David Lammy urged firms to sign up to the Skill Pledge and commit to boosting their employees' abilities.
