Written question asked by Stephen O'Brien (Conservative) on Monday, 5 December 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 7 December 2005. It was answered by Phil Hope (Labour) on Thursday, 8 December 2005 on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills.

Employer Training

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of (a) employers and (b) employees who were eligible signed up for employer training pilots in the last year for which figures are available.

Answer: A report by the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) published in March 2005, ““Platform for Progression: Employer Training Pilots Year 2 Evaluation Report”” found that at the end of the second year of the pilots almost 12,000 workplaces were involved in the 12 phase 1 and 2 pilots. Some 10 per cent. of eligible employers were involved—12 per cent. in the phase 1 pilots and 8.5 per cent. in phase 2. Take-up had been stronger in the second year of the pilots than the first and take-up levels varied significantly by pilot area. 80,000 learners had signed up, around 4 per cent. of the eligible population.These figures will be updated in the IES Evaluation Report of Year 3 of ETP which we expect to publish early in 2006.

Secondary information