Companies received more than 5 billion British Pounds last year from the Exchequer in tax relief for work-related training. That is equivalent to the turnover of more than 250 further education colleges. And it vastly overshadows the 50 million British Pounds Growth and Innovation Fund set up to support employers' initiatives to improve skills and boost enterprise and jobs. But, as a forthcoming research paper by Howard Reed of Landman Economics, commissioned by unionlearn, demonstrates, there is little to show that this vast sum is focused on the most effective training courses; nor is it reaching those who most need it. That is why unionlearn's paper concludes that there are very strong grounds for reforming the tax relief system by making it more progressive--targeting the low-paid and low-skilled--and more focused on high returns by restricting training to that which leads to qualifications (or accredited CPD). In these financially straitened times it is vital that sums such as 5 billion British Pounds are used to make a real difference to the training of employers and the productivity of businesses. It should also be a requirement of employers to publish details of their training investment in their annual reports so that shareholders can see to what extent the company is investing in its most precious commodity: its staff.