Public sector pay a barrier to better skills

-

Civil service salary restrictions will hamper the government’s attempts to raise skill levels in the wake of the West Coast Main Line procurement fiasco, former Transport Secretary Lord Adonis has claimed.

He told an Institute for Government debate that “salary had been quite a major obstacle to bringing in people with real private sector experience.

“If we want government to be ade­quately skilled on procurement and private sector contracts then we have got to bring in the experts,” he added.

Former deputy Prime Minister Lord Heseltine also raised concerns that public sector pay was not competitive.

HRreview Logo

Get our essential weekday HR news and updates.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Keep up with the latest in HR...
This field is hidden when viewing the form
This field is hidden when viewing the form
Optin_date
This field is hidden when viewing the form

 

He said: “We have got to recruit within the marketplace for the people with the skills we need. We cannot do it by training civil servants because it takes too long and they won’t stay in the public sector. Even if we train our civil servants and it works, they will just leave and take em­ploy­ment in the private sector.”

Pamela Flores is an events professional with experience at Symposium Events, a UK-based conference and events organization. She has worked in editorial and event coordination roles within the HR and expatriate management sector, contributing to the organization of major conferences including the Expatriate Management and Global Mobility conference. Her background spans online editorial work and events management within the professional conference industry.

Latest news

England’s overnight World Cup clash and 5am pub opening prompt CIPD advice

The CIPD is urging organisations to agree any flexibility before England's 1am World Cup last-16 tie to help minimise disruption at the start of the working week.

Russell Cowley: Gen Z – rebuilding workplace culture, break by break

Gen Z workers are taking proper breaks and in doing so, they may be fixing something the rest of us broke.

Fit for Work: Weekend warrior? You can still reap the health benefits

Weekend exercise can still improve long-term health, even for people who struggle to fit physical activity into the working week.

Superdry co-founder’s victim warns workplace power can silence abuse victims

A survivor's account raises questions about speaking-up cultures and accountability in organisations.
- Advertisement -

UK’s always-on work culture ‘driving employee burnout’

Nearly half of UK workers say they end most working days mentally exhausted as rising workplace pressure leaves employees and managers struggling to switch off.

Andrew Murray on why no two days look alike

A people development leader shares how travel, training and a passion for helping others shape a working day with little room for routine.

Must read

David Freedman: Successful negotiation – the death of the ‘one man band’?

You could hardly get a greater contrast. Between 2007-8,...

Geoff Smith: Future-proofing your workforce for a tech revolution yet to hit

Research from the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills suggests that almost a third of small businesses lack digital skills, despite the growing need for technology skills.
- Advertisement -

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you