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By Philippa Silverman - 13th July 2011
The government has failed to properly assess the impact and value for money of its civil service training programme, a report has revealed.
The National Audit Office(NAO) has found that across departments the value of value for money of civil service training is unknown as results are "rarely evaluated".
It found that under half of civil servants thought the level of training they had received in the past year had helped them to do their roles better.
Last year's government calculation of £547 per civil servant, a total of £275m, was a "significant underestimate", the report said.
And it criticised the government for its failure in using its buying power to secure the best deal when outsourcing its training.
The report pointed to a Civil Service People Survey in 2010 that showed only 48 per cent of workers said the learning and development they had received in the last 12 months had helped them be better at their job.
It also revealed that 80 per cent of civil servants believe there to be skills gaps in their organisations.
Of these, 84 per cent of staff said difficulties in recruiting skilled staff were also a significant contributing factor.
A new cross-government development department, Civil Service Learning, was set up in April to tackle the problems, but it is too early to say how that would work out.
Public accounts committee chair Margaret Hodge said: "Each year departments spend at least £547 per civil servant on developing skills and yet they don't know what they are getting for their money, or if it is having any positive effect at all.
"In a time when headcount reductions are taking place and major reform programmes are under way, it is vital that government gets a grip on the skills it needs to deliver its objectives, and gets value for money for investment in developing its staff."
Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, said: "Tight public funding means that departments must find ambitious new ways of working to maintain and drive up levels of performance.
"Key elements of success will be knowing what skills are needed and which staff have them, and then deploying those staff to where they are most needed.
"These key elements are not presently in place in many departments and need to be driven urgently to be in step with major change programmes."
Article Comments
Yes there is the usual mismanagement, but too many civil servants abuse the facilities available - the learning process offered is often seen as another skive off work.
Tannere
14th Jul 2011 at 8:32 am
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