Keep training levy plea
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• A plea for the retention of the training levy /grant system has been made by the National Advisory Committee for Group Training Associations.
The Committee, in a submission to the Secretary of State for Employment, expressed its deep concern over the proposal contained in the Government document Training for the Future that the levy /grant system should be discontinued. It believes that to withdraw the system at this stage would undermine all the good that has been achieved and would result in a decrease in both the quality and quantity of training.
As to the proposal for the establishment of a National Training Agency the Committee believes that each industry should control its own training destiny and therefore it is anxious that the NTA should be restricted to a co-ordinating role and should not take over day-to-day operational tasks particularly in the Management training field. For this reason it prefers the professional staff to be employed by the Training Board, not by the Agency and that the significance of the industry's own Board should not be diminished.
The Committee, which represents 2800 road haulage firms, referred to the early criticism that the training boards were of little value to the smaller company but said that the formation of the GTAs had led to considerable success in providing training facilities and expertise and the road transport Groups were anxious that this should continue. Considerable investments had been made by the member firms and without the continued financial support from the Board many Groups would be unable to remain in operation.
Only last week, comments David Lowe, the RHA recommended the end of the levy /grant system -a surprisingly contradictory view to that of the GTAs, most of whose members are also members of the RHA.