PRACTITIONERS′ CORNER: Sheffield′s Employment and Training Information Consortium

The level of contact by government and non‐government organisations with local companies has intensified in recent years. Sheffield is used as a case study to show that the level of contact with local businesses can be considerable. This level of contact has led to a growing chorus of complaints from many businesses about the increasing burden of information collection. One way to resolve these problems is through collaboration by those involved in information collection. In Sheffield six organisations have been working together for more than a year to collaborate in the collection, analysis and dissemination of company information. An independent organisation, the Employment and Training Information Consortium (ETIC) has been established to co‐ordinate the sharing of information.