The impact of Investors in People on employer-provided training, the equality of training provision and the 'training apartheid' phenomenon

This article draws on data from WERS 2004 to provide a follow-up to previous research using WERS 98, which evaluated the relationship between Investors in People (IiP) and training. This follow-up is undertaken in order to consider whether the Standard, which was revised in 2000, is now more effective in ensuring that recognised workplaces genuinely engage in training activity. An evaluation is also undertaken of the Standard's new aim of ensuring equal opportunities with regard to training provision. In the event, the analysis demonstrates that the proportion of employees in IiP workplaces that have not received formal training did not change between 1998 and 2004, but employees were now less likely to disagree that managers at their workplaces encourage people to develop their skills. However, the analysis finds greater evidence of inequality of training provision in IiP workplaces than in non-IiP workplaces and that the Standard neither boosts training levels for typically disadvantaged employee groups, nor overcomes the 'training apartheid' phenomenon.