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Firms have spent an all-time high of £38.6bn on training, according to new research from the National Employer Skills Survey 2007.

Published by the Learning and Skills Council, statistics revealed that the figure was up 16 per cent from 2005.

The research also shows that the proportion of vacancies that cannot be filled due to a skills shortage has dropped from 25 per cent in 2005 to 21 per cent in 2007, and affects 5 per cent of employers.

The National Employer Skills Survey 2007, which polled more than 79,000 employers, revealed more than two-thirds of the country’s businesses spent a combined total of 218m days training their workforces.

The average money spent for each employee on training increased by 11 per cent from £1550 in 2005 to £1750 in 2007.

Chris Banks, chairman of the LSC, said: "Never before have so many employers invested so much in staff training their workforce. Employers are clearly seeing that training is helping to shape the future of their businesses and is the solution to their skills needs.

"The challenge now is to encourage more employers to invest in their staff so that we can close the skills gap further."

John Denham, secretary of state secretary of state for innovation, universities and skills, said: "The need to improve the nation's skills is a key priority for the government as we face increasing competition from across the globe. It is vital for everyone - businesses, employees and the government - to work together to ensure we have the skills we need to succeed."