Although 92% of small business owners believe well-trained employees are key to the company’s success, 61% say the average worker doesn’t have the skills or knowledge their company needs, according to American Express quarterly Small Business Monitor released today.
“With the needs of the skilled workforce constantly evolving, employers are feeling an increased pressure to keep pace with their training and development programs,” said Athena Varmazis, vice-president and general manager of Small Business Services for American Express Canada.
The survey found that small business owners’ chief motivations for investing in training and development are:
- to make the company more competitive (36%);
- to retain quality staff (26%); and
- to keep up with new technology (14%).
The survey found that for 29% of small business owners, training and development takes budgetary priority over most strategic and operational initiatives.
It found that on average, small businesses spend 8% of revenue on training and development and expect to nearly double their spending over the coming years, with an average increase of 7.5% over the next two years.
