18 June 2004 - Publication of DWP research report: No 143 - Survey of Companies in England Supported by European Social Fund Objective 3
Research is published today by the Department for Work and Pensions which presents the findings of a survey of companies in England which have benefited from training funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) Objective 3.
The survey assessed the extent and nature of the support provided, characteristics of companies in receipt of the support and the effects of the support on those companies. The research ran from December 2002 until October 2003. It was based on telephone interviews with more than 660 companies that had received ESF support during the period June to November 2002 and 500 non-supported ‘comparison group’ companies.
The main findings were:
- Nearly 80 per cent of the companies surveyed had fewer than 50 employees - around a third were micro-firms employing fewer than 10 people, while around six in 10 were from a wide range of service sectors.
- Almost two-thirds (64 per cent) of the companies surveyed used ESF to provide training to managers and supervisors. Just over a fifth (22 per cent) trained skilled manual workers. The majority (up to 60 per cent) of employees of ESF-supported companies were from higher or intermediate level skills occupations (managers, professionals, skilled manual workers).
- The content of the training provided showed wide variation. The main types of provision related to aspects of managerial, supervisory and technical training. Almost four in 10 companies (38 per cent) reported training in management such as team-leadership, time-management etc. Over a third reported training in health and safety.
- The main reported aim of the ESF-supported training was to improve employees’ skills for their current job (57 per cent of companies). This indicates a generally reactive approach to training. However, ESF-supported companies were overall more likely to train than non-ESF companies (20 per cent of which said they had done no training in recent years). Significantly higher proportions of ESF-supported companies than non-supported companies said they used the support to prepare employees for a future job (23 per cent) or to help improve business performance (26 per cent). These findings suggest overall a more strategic orientation to training and higher skills awareness on the part of the ESF-supported companies.
- Nearly 45 per cent of supported companies reported positive effects on their bottom-line performance as a result of the ESF funding – 75 per cent reported improved employee productivity.
- Some four in 10 ESF-supported companies reported that they would “definitely” or “probably” not have undertaken alternative measures to achieve the same effects as the training in the absence of the ESF support. This measure of additionality was highest amongst micro-firms (52 per cent). A further 20 per cent reported they would have taken alternative measures to achieve the same effects, but later than the ESF-supported intervention.
Notes for editors
- The ESF Objective 3 programme provides support to companies mainly under the Adaptability and Entrepreneurship (Policy Field 4) strategic objective, whose main aims are to improve the skills base and adaptability of the employed labour force, and increase the level of entrepreneurship in England.
- Around 60 per cent of companies helped by ESF projects are supported under this policy field, with most of the rest supported under the Lifelong Learning (Policy Field 3) objective.
- Up to the end of December 2003, i.e. halfway through the current ESF Objective 2000-2006 programme, around 45,000 companies in England had received support.
- Around 95 per cent of these had fewer than 250 employees i.e. they were classed as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
- “Survey of Companies in England Supported by European Social Fund Objective 3” by PACEC Ltd. The report is published in the Department for Work and Pensions In-house Report Series (Report No. 143).
Press office: 020 7238 0866
Out of hours: 07659 108 883
Public enquiries: 020 7712 2171
Website: www.dwp.gov.uk