Smallest firms 'need skills council'

Micro-firms with fewer than five employees are missing out on Government training schemes, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

And target="_blank"the federation is calling on the Government to create a dedicated skills council specifically to support the smallest of businesses.

In a survey of 292 FSB members, 88% said that they had not taken up training under target="_blank"the Government's Train to Gain scheme, which aims to help small firms develop skills among their staff.

The federation says that many small firms are not aware that the scheme - for which £350 million of funding was announced earlier this year - offers subsidised training. In addition, the survey found that the majority of sole traders believed - wrongly - that they did not qualify for the scheme.

Respondents identified a need for more specialised training, including leadership and management advice specifically tailored to firms with fewer than five staff, and in areas such as IT where small firms may lack expertise.

"The FSB welcomes extra funding for, and the focus on, small- and medium-sized enterprises," said FSB education and skills chairman Colin Willman.

"But much of the Government's training offer goes over the heads of the hardest to reach small firms because the training available is inappropriate for the majority of the country's smallest businesses, and because it still isn't flexible enough."