Abstract
Some evidence of a relationship between training provision and the extent of skills shortages is provided by presenting the results of a survey of small firms operating across a range of manufacturing and service industries within the Portsmouth area of south Hampshire. By empirically distinguishing between different types of training providers and measuring the severity of skills shortages between companies, it is shown that those organisations which lay emphasis on the development of human resources are less adversely affected by skills shortages than those organisations which, in contrast, lay emphasis on the exploitation of human resources.