Workers with basic literacy and numeracy needs are not getting the training they require, warned inspectors yesterday. The £520m Train to Gain programme to boost employer demand "has not resulted in an increased employer demand for training", says Ofsted, the watchdog. Train to Gain was set up in 2006 as part of a Whitehall drive to boost skills in England. Ofsted said, more positively, that "most employers were very pleased with the training and assessment their staff received through the programme".

David Turner