Skills Minister John Hayes has called on UK employers to promote informal learning at work, following pledges from 64 UK firms to increase informal workplace training for their staff.

The pledges from firms, including Barclays Bank, BT, Channel 4, FirstGroup, Ginsters, Google, McDonald’s Restaurants and Microsoft, form part of the ‘Café Culture’ campaign, launched last year and run by Business in the Community on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) to improve workers’ skills.

To support the campaign, BIS and Business in the Community yesterday published Building the Café Culture Movement to help other organisations to see the benefits of informal adult learning at work.

The publication includes case studies outlining the business benefits of informal learning, alongside guidance on how to follow in their footsteps.

Hayes says: “Businesses have a pivotal role in promoting adult learning, and so have a unique opportunity to change, and indeed improve, people’s lives. In turn, they can reap the harvest of a productive and engaged workforce.

“The many household names that have pledged to push informal workplace learning through the Café Culture campaign is testament to the value they place on developing new skills.”