Employers must take the skills pledge

In her monthly column for FE News Liz Smith, Director of unionlearn, calls for employers to provide training for their workforce. [Don't most already provide training? Perhaps not.]
She says: "Skills are sexy. At last." She goes on to spell out some of the help avaialble to employers - mostly, it seems, at the lower end of the spectrum - and concludes that:

with all this help at hand, why are there still many employers out there who refuse to engage in training their workforces? The government is investing over £400 million in Train to Gain, and unions are working together with employers so the stage is set for the UK to move towards competing with its European rivals. All employers have to do is take the pledge and work with the unions to make it happen.

Yes, well. Most small employers have little or nothing to do with unions and negotiate with individual staff in order that those staff should be capable of doing the jobs required of them. with this in mind I asked my only staff memebr, Dawn, what she wanted to be trainined in. I should have known beteter and been more specific. I should have asked her "What training is it that you need, if any, in order to do your job more effectively?" I might then have got a more appropriate answer than "beer drinking and salsa dancing". My instant answer was "go away" or words to that effect. On reflection, though, I should have said: "I don't think you need to be taught how to drink beer. learndirect provides information on a salsa dancing course in West Bridgford on a Monday evening - £5 for a one-hour session which, since it isn't job-related, you can pay for yourself!"