Staff will soon be able to request the right to take time off to receive training that is directly relevant to their job, under new government plans.

The new law, which could be in place by 2010, is aimed at the third of employers who do not train their staff at all, which leaves approximately 8m employees without any training each year.

Training could be at any level and could be paid for by a combination of the government, employers and staff.

Under the proposals, funds would be made available to businesses under the Train To Gain scheme and employees could be expected to forfeit pay for the duration of the course.