AN urgent overhaul of training is needed to tackle the serious shortage of skilled workers ''crippling'' parts of industry, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) said last night.

Research for the union organisation found that a third of businesses offered no training to staff, especially those in semi-skilled and manual jobs.

Yet employers of manual workers said they were suffering the worst skills shortages.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: ''If individuals are expected to take greater responsibility for their own training needs, we will have a situation where whoever shouts the loudest, or knows how the training system works, will get the most out of the training budget.

''This report shows that if businesses really want value for money from their training, then they must find out what their staff need.

''Token gesture training for the masses and expensive training for the elite will not address the real problems of workers unable to keep up with the fast-changing, modern world of business.'