U.K. employees received less workplace training in 2024 than they did in 2011, while short online courses have become increasingly dominant, according to new analysis from the Learning and Work Institute reported by the Financial Times.
Employees received an average of 5.7 days of training in 2024, down from 7.8 days in 2011. Training costs per employee also fell 29% in real terms, leaving U.K. businesses spending around £12 billion less on training each year.
Most Training Is Now Online
Online training accounted for 88% of U.K. workplace training in 2024, up from 67% in 2015.
At the same time, 58% of training lasted less than a day, giving the U.K. the highest share of short training courses among wealthy countries, according to OECD data cited by the Learning and Work Institute.
Health and safety was the most common type of training, accounting for about one-fifth of courses, followed by computing and customer-handling training.
Compliance Is Taking Priority
The Learning and Work Institute warned that compliance requirements are increasingly taking priority over training designed to build skills and improve productivity.
That concern comes as employers face changing skills requirements linked to AI, the transition to net zero and higher-skilled jobs. Short online courses can make it easier for businesses to meet training requirements at scale, but the report questions whether they are replacing longer development programs.
Training professionals also caution that online delivery itself is not necessarily the problem. Its flexibility and scalability can make it effective, particularly for routine training, but its value depends on whether employees actually learn and retain the material.
The decline in training investment comes as the U.K. continues to struggle with weak productivity growth, adding to concerns that cutting longer-term skills development could leave businesses less prepared for changing workforce demands.
