Will 2011 be a knockout year for L&D?

Is 2011 going to be a knockout year for L&D? Brightwave's content editor Peter Styles examines the CBI's Ready to Grow report to see if we are boxing clever

Will the heralding of the New Year be accompanied by renewed economic certainty? Though UK PLC seems to have weathered many of the sub-prime storms of the last couple of years, the ticking time bomb of the Comprehensive Spending Review has still to explode upon the public sector. Some commentators fear a double dip recession as a consequence, while others feel we've taken the most of the pain. The intellectual behemoth that is Rocky Balboa encapsulates it very well - "it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward".

So focussing in on the realm of L&D, will 2011 be a knockout year? The CBI's recent Ready to Grow report seems to depict British industry as a seasoned pro who has seen better days - but is training hard to reach an optimum fighting weight.

Topline results from the employer attitudes survey include:

• Almost two-thirds (64%) of employers rank improving productivity and performance as their main priority for the next three years. The same proportion - 63% - sees investing in skills as vital to achieving these strategic objectives.
• With trading conditions remaining difficult, the majority (58%) of employers plan to leave training expenditure unchanged at present. In response to the squeeze on available resources, more than two-thirds (69%) of employers say they will be seeking more cost-effective routes to delivering training, while 63% are maximising returns on their spend by targeting training more effectively.'
• In addition, firms continue to experience problems with basic skills – 52% are concerned about the literacy and 49% the numeracy of the current workforce.'

In the foreword CBI's CEO of Education Development International Nigel Snook is relatively buoyant about the current scenario: "'Despite economic pressures, employers continue to make a huge investment in workplace training, estimated at £39 billion a year, and work with a range of private and public sector organisations to support skills delivery." Nearly £40 billion is a mighty purse to fight over - worthy of pulling on some gloves and climbing over the top rope.

So who's going to be a contender? The phrase 'more cost-effective routes to delivering training' would seem to support a continued move from face-to-face workplace learning to more hi-tech solutions. It would also seem that those who try to align business need with learning outcome will have their hand raised in victory by the referee after the tolling of final bell.

And while Rocky may chase chickens, do countless one-handed press-ups and run up and down the 72 steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art to a trumpet-funk fanfare, the CBI have very firm notions of what our workforce needs to have in their locker to be globally competitive. Their definition of key employability skills are:

• Self-management – readiness to accept responsibility, flexibility, time management, readiness to improve own performance
• Teamworking – respecting others, co-operating, negotiating/persuading, contributing to discussions
• Business and customer awareness – basic understanding of the key drivers for business success and the need to provide customer satisfaction
• Problem solving – analysing facts and circumstances and applying creative thinking to develop appropriate solutions
• Communication and literacy – application of literacy, ability to produce clear, structured written work and oral literacy, including listening and questioning
• Application of numeracy – manipulation of numbers, general mathematical awareness and its application in practical contexts
• Application of information technology – basic IT skills, including familiarity with word processing, spreadsheets, file management and use of internet search engines

E-learning is a highly effective way for the workforce to gain these skills, and like Balboa later in his career, people can take individual responsibility for their own training and performance.

And so it would seem that though the judges have yet to come back with their final verdict, the L&D sector looks a worthy of a comeback in 2011, and could well be punching above its weight on the rocky road to recovery.

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