Research carried out by the Forum of Private Business (FPB) has found that while 47% of its members expect to see an increase in trade over the next year, many of them fear that a lack of sales skills will hamper their growth.

Responding to the FPB's quarterly Referendum survey, firms said that export opportunities, together with improved access to capital, should provide a welcome boost to their businesses in 2010. However 45% of them said they needed to increase the skill levels of their workforce through training.

Of those 45%, 29% said they needed to boost sales training, 18% said vocational training had to be improved and 13% wanted to boost their employees' abilities to multi-skill and adapt.

 

Alex Blyth