The survey conducted by YouGov and released by the TUC and its learning and skills organisation unionlearn revealed that 71% of working people would like to have the right to claim paid time off and that 53% would be likely to use it.
The Government announced proposals in June for employees in England to be entitled to request time off work for training after six months in employment.
Those earning less than £5,000 and those whose salaries are between £25,000 and £30,000 are, said the poll, most likely to be in favour of the right (77%) – while those earning between £20,000 and £25,000 are most likely to say they would use it (62%).
The TUC expressed concern that, despite an apparent enthusiasm to learn new skills, low-skilled workers are the least likely to receive training at work, with only 9% of employees without formal qualifications having participated in job-related training in the last three months, compared to 38% of graduates, according to recent Government statistics.
TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: “The Government must ensure that any new right to request training is strong enough to make a genuine difference. Otherwise, the one third of employers who refuse to train their staff will continue to shirk their responsibilities and overlook those that need training most. Meanwhile business groups will continue to moan about the lack of skills possessed by the UK workforce.”
Skills Secretary John Denham published a consultation in June on how the new right will operate.
"Subject to the outcome of the consultation, and the passage of legislation through
Parliament, we would expect ‘time to train’ to be implemented in 2010," said the Consultation, which closed this week.
