Key Report Highlights Considerable Regional Disparity in Pay Amongst Training Professionals

STAFFORD, UK, October 25, 2012

GPRS Recruitment. A new report commissioned by permanent recruitment specialists, GPRS Recruitment, reveals that a majority (23%) of qualified professionals employed by businesses providing training in the workplace would consider moving to another employer, while (41%) stated they believe they could earn more with an alternative employer. Other key findings point to the reasons for this dissatisfaction: 67% of those surveyed receive no long service bonus, 58% have received no pay increase in the past 24 months, and 37% said that their salary reviews are currently on hold.

Furthermore, when it comes to training the trainers some British businesses within the work based learning & training sector are falling short. 37% of qualified QCF/TAQA (formerly NVQ) assessors and verifiers surveyed have funded their own training and qualifications, whilst an alarming 71% have not been provided with work based training or induction by their current employer.

The findings come from a nation-wide salary and benefits survey of more than 5,000 work-based learning & training professionals - the fifth edition of the survey conducted by GPRS Recruitment, pioneers of the survey for this sector in the UK. The results reveal key regional salary and benefit trends, and provide statistical evidence to explain why staff retention can present a challenge in the sector.

The regional differences in the report are striking: 77% of those surveyed in the northern region state that they have received a reduced bonus in comparison to previous years, compared to just 26% in the southern region.

These perceptions are borne out by the report's salary findings, with northern respondents earning the least in all the positions surveyed, followed by their peers in the central region, with southern training professionals coming out top for pay.

And regional differences are more pronounced at the top of the salary scale: training directors in the south earned an average of GBP6k more than their northern peers, with their average annual bonuses also exceeding those awarded in the north by more than GBP2k.

Some northern professionals at the lower end of the pay scale, however, bagged similar annual bonuses: QCF/TAQA assessors and skills tutors both received almost as much on average as their peers further south.

Commenting on the findings, Martina (Marti) Jones, Divisional Director - Training & Work Based Learning, at GPRS Recruitment, said: "as with previous years the findings trend consistently on regional disparities. This year's results however highlight different concerns in that workforce training is not considered a high priority, with 71% of respondents stating they have received little or no training from their current employer."

Other interesting findings on a nationwide basis include: 46% of sector professionals stated that they regularly work in excess of 5 days per week, with 42% stating that they regularly work in excess of 5 days per week.

Jones continued "But taking a deeper look at the results, it's certainly not all doom & gloom this year. 63% of those surveyed in the northern region employed on a contract basis stated they are committed to securing a permanent role for the medium to long term. This is great news, as it's indicative of stability returning to the market-place with clear signs that sector professionals who have experienced 'free-lancing' during the past couple of years now show preference for permanent appointments. This trend is approaching half (47%) on a nationwide basis, which will bring a renewed confidence and employer loyalty to the profession".

GPRS Recruitment, based in Staffordshire, is a specialist in the permanent provision of work based learning and further education professionals. For more information contact us at 0845 862 6272 - info@gprs.uk.com or visit us at http://www.gprs.uk.com