“An Inappropriate Appetite for Training”? Equal Opportunities and Training for Flexible Information Workers

Abstract

A variety of rising tensions have accompanied the development of the UK's flexible workforce and the debate around training for these workers is located among these competing demands. As the proportion of flexible workers in the labour market has increased, their systematic exclusion, in comparison to permanent full‐time workers, from certain types of training has been documented. This has been accompanied by widespread calls for the UK to develop a better qualified and skilled workforce. This tension — affecting in different ways the labour market, employers and workers — now has legislative equal opportunities implications. These issues are explored in a case study of the library and information sector.