54% of Southland Firms to Cut Back Training, Survey Finds
Despite increasing calls from corporate America for a better-educated, more prepared work force, a majority of Southern California employers say they will scale back training efforts this year.
A survey conducted by Market Research Associates of Irvine found that 54% of 1,353 companies polled plan to spend less for worker training in 1995 than a year ago. Thirty-three percent of the respondents projected increased spending.
The results surprised analysts because other recent studies have suggested that companies nationwide are spending more on worker training programs.
Curtis Plott, president of the American Society for Training and Development, said his group’s survey in January showed that 46% of about 150 Fortune 500 companies reported plans to increase their training budgets over the next two years and that just 9% indicated a cutback.
However, Plott said California businesses may be cutting back on training because they are still struggling with the economy. If such is true, he warned, it is a “short-term strategy that can backfire on you ultimately.”
Fifty-six percent of the companies surveyed by Market Research said it is the individual’s responsibility to maintain job skills. About a third said the burden should fall on employers, and 11% said the responsibility lies with educational institutions.
The survey was conducted by telephone between mid-October and early December. The random sampling included companies of various sizes and in a broad spectrum of industries in Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino and Kern counties. The survey, done for Thomas Temporaries, an Irvine employment agency, has an error margin of less than 2.9%.
