Skills at Work in Scotland 1997 to 2006 - Scottish Government

SKILLS AT WORK IN SCOTLAND, 1997-2006
Training and Learning
• Many job features are important to people’s work orientations, but ‘good training provision’ does not appear one of them.
It was ranked ninth out of fifteen job features in both Scotland and the rest of the UK. Nevertheless, it was rated as
‘essential’ by a fifth of job-holders in Scotland about the same proportion as employees who worked elsewhere in the UK.
• The most popular type of training was received on-the-job (39%), off-the-job training came next (36%) and the third most
popular form of training was self-directed (25%).
• Around half of the Scottish non-trainees said that they ‘did not want any training’ compared to around a sixth who said that
‘my employer was not willing to provide additional training, even though I wanted it’. Seven out of ten Scottish respondents
who did not undertake training in the past twelve months regarded such activity as irrelevant to the job and well over half
(59%) said that training had little pay-off in terms of promotion.
• Nevertheless, the lack of training may be considered an obstacle to improved work performance. However, this does not
appear to be the case. Only around a fifth of Scottish non-trainees thought that it would make it difficult for them to keep
pace with changes in the job and even less (8%) thought that it would hinder their career opportunities.
• When training is undertaken it is often at the behest of the employer: whereas only a third of Scottish trainee respondents
claimed personal responsibility, around two-thirds mentioned that training had been initiated on the suggestion of their
employer. The pattern was very similar among men and women, although only a quarter of female part-time employees
received training as a result of their own initiative.
• For those that had received some training, the impact of the training on work performance was high. For example, nine out
of ten Scottish respondents said that: it was important for keeping up-to-date with developments in the job (92%; it had
helped them to improve their work practices (86%; and it had improved their skills (93%).
• A fifth of Scottish respondents who received training reported that this activity incurred tangible costs in terms of cost fees
and the purchase of training materials. In three-quarters (72%) of cases, employers bore these costs with the individual
paying in one of four cases (27%) and government bearing some of the cost in just a few cases (6%). Similarly, the training
reported to us was carried out in working hours (73%) and in almost all cases these costs were borne by the employer.
• On-the-job learning through experience and experimentation as well as learning from others is buoyant. Around a third
(35%) of Scottish respondents strongly agreed that the job itself requires learning and just over a quarter (27%) strongly
agreed that they are able to learn from work colleagues. There was also strong agreement that job-holders have a
teaching role in helping others learn - nearly a third (31%) of Scottish respondents took such a position. The Scottish
results were mirrored by those in the rest of the UK.
• Overall, a fifth (21%) of Scottish respondents registered a strong desire for future training. This proportion dropped among
women in general (19%), but fell even more dramatically among female part-timers (13%). However, the equivalent
figures for the rest of the UK were somewhat higher.
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