Skills Support for the Workforce -
fully funded workplace training for SME's

The Skills Support for the Workforce (SSW) programme provides fully funded workplace training to SME’s to meet individual, employer and regional economic needs. The training includes bespoke and vocationally relevant qualifications that are responsive to the needs identified.

Filling Local Skills Gaps

The SSW programmes were specified by Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) to meet the skills gaps within local businesses with a focus on the LEPs priority sectors. They are funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) and managed by the Education & Skills Funding Agency (ESFA).

Across the skills support for the workforce programme we have:

How Does It Work

Tailored to meet the unique needs of your business and your people – local experts will visit you to carry out a free skills consultation. Training packages to tackle the skills gaps in your workforce will be developed. All training delivered in the workplace or at nearby training centres.

The benefits of upskilling your staff

• Increase productivity and save money
• Improve staff retention
• Support and identify your training needs
• Flexible delivery to minimise business impact
• Employees communicate, participate and contribute more effectively
• Builds a personalised learning plan to feed into probation and annual review process
• Linking in with your LEP’s business initiatives to support your business
• Accredited training.

How can tailored training and development improve your organisation?

Upskilling your staff not only increases productivity and boosts efficiency; it also motivates and makes people feel valued, which research shows improves staff retention. Investing in tailored training and development will also widen your appeal as an employer as you will be able to offer clear career and progression pathways to potential employees.

Our local experts will complete a full training needs analysis to identify skills gaps in your workforce. They will also signpost opportunities for development which could make all the difference to your business’s ability to thrive in a highly competitive and rapidly changing environment.

Interested?

Get in touch, and we can see if you are eligible for the programme and take it from there.

Apply to Skills Support for the Workforce today.

Skills Support for the Workforce -
The Marches

Our Skills Support for the Workforce contract in the Marshes cover two strands:

Strand 1: Skills support for the Workforce

• We provide support to employers to help them employ and develop individuals that fill local skills gaps and shortages.
• We help employers, particularly in small, medium and micro businesses, address their employees' basic needs in English, maths and IT.
• We help employers increase the skills levels of their employees to encourage progression within the workforce.
• We work to increase the number of people with technical and job specific skills, to help them progress into education, employment and apprenticeships to support business growth.
• We work to increase the skills levels of employed women to help employers address the gender employment and wage gap.
• We identify and promote apprenticeships to address skills gaps within the existing workforce.

Strand 2: Skills support for Unemployed individuals, those At Risk of Redundancy or Recently Redundant

• We support businesses of any size that are restructuring their workforces by providing skills and employability support for their employees who are at risk of redundancy.
• We also support recently redundant people get back into work.

Who can we help?

• People who are employed in businesses in Herefordshire, Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin who are aged 16 or over and meet our eligibility criteria.
• Unemployed people, people who have recently been made redundant and people who are at risk of redundancy who are aged 16 or over and meet our eligibility criteria.

Who can we do to help?

We provide training and qualifications in sectors where there are skills shortages.

• We provide training and qualifications at level 2, 3 & 4 especially to people who don’t currently have qualifications at those levels.
• We address skills shortages in high employment sectors and those that are new and growing – including:
  • advanced manufacturing including engineering, agri-food and agri-tech
  • food and drink processing
  • health and social care
  • visitor economy (leisure, business tourism and heritage based business)
  • construction
  • defence and security
  • environmental science and technologies
  • creative and digital and industries
  • agriculture professional services

Skills Support for the Unemployed -
fully funded training to get people into work

Our Skills Support for the Unemployed contract in Hertfordshire can help unemployed people get back into work by:

• Delivering bespoke support and training for unemployed people who want to return to work but need new skills.
• Providing advice on vacancies, job search, CV writing and interview techniques
• Providing assistance with registering, searching and applying for apprenticeship vacancies on www.apprenticeships.org.uk.
• Developing and delivering pre-employment support and training, including team working, coaching and mentoring, confidence building and employability training;
• Delivering activities that help people upskill, y that promotes vocational pathways, work experience and volunteering and provide one-to-one mentoring including
• functional skills training, including literacy and ICT (promoting digital competence within the labour market);
• ESOL provision;
• learning programmes for learners with special educational needs;
• support independence skills for those with learning difficulties;
• the provision of training to support self-employment.
• Delivering the specific skills needed by local employers
• Helping to address any mobility issues that are barriers to work.

Who can apply?

If you are unemployed and over 16 and you live in these Local Authority areas: Hertfordshire County Council; Broxbourne Borough Council; Dacorum Borough Council; East Herts Council; Hertsmere Borough Council; North Hertfordshire District Council; St Albans City and District Council; Stevenage Borough Council; Three Rivers District Council; Watford Borough Council; Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council

Where could this lead?

Hertfordshire is a diverse and thriving area to find employment. The Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has identified these priority sectors as key to its aim of driving economic growth within the county:

• Construction – with potential for significant increases in the building of residential units as well as the regeneration of several urban centres, i.e. Stevenage, Hatfield, Hemel Hempstead, Watford and Bishop Stortford
• High-end logistics – an area which is growing very quickly, particularly in servicing London-based households and businesses, and increasingly generates higher quality jobs
• Film and digital media – Hertfordshire has world class assets in Leavesden (home of Warner Bros) and Elstree;
• Life Sciences/advanced manufacturing/engineering and IT – with businesses in life sciences, defence and aerospace, software, ICT and telecoms services, equipment producers and communications integrators.
• Financial and business services – Hertfordshire accommodates national headquarters and regional offices serving southern England – with notable businesses in Watford, St Albans, Cheshunt and Hemel Hempstead.

Skills Support for the Unemployed -
fully funded training to get people into work

Our Skills Support for the Unemployed contract in the West of England can help unemployed people get back into work by:

• Delivering bespoke support and training for unemployed people who want to return to work but need new skills.
• Providing advice on vacancies, job search, CV writing and interview techniques
• Providing assistance with registering, searching and applying for apprenticeship vacancies on www.apprenticeships.org.uk.
• Developing and delivering pre-employment support and training, including team working, coaching and mentoring, confidence building and employability training;
• Delivering activities that help people upskill, y that promotes vocational pathways, work experience and volunteering and provide one-to-one mentoring including
• functional skills training, including literacy and ICT (promoting digital competence within the labour market);
• ESOL provision;
• learning programmes for learners with special educational needs;
• support independence skills for those with learning difficulties;
• the provision of training to support self-employment.
• Delivering the specific skills needed by local employers
• Helping to address any mobility issues that are barriers to work.

Who can apply?

The West of England has unrivalled business strengths and is a great place to live and work.

If you are unemployed and over 16 and you live in these Local Authority areas, we may be able to help:

Bristol City Council; Bath and North East Somerset Council; North Somerset Council; South Gloucestershire Council

The West of England Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is particularly keen to help

• People with outdated skills i.e. level 2 gained in 1970s or vocational skills in declining industries to retrain and find work;
• unemployed adults to gain employment in growth areas of the local labour market.
• mature job seekers, those who are over 50 years, particularly those without academic qualifications, with self-taught skills or on the job learning.
• Those in rural locations who find it hard to access employment opportunities.

Your Time -
London, North & East

Your Time is a programme specially developed to support young people who are between 16 and 24 and are not in education, employment or training (NEET).

Our programme focuses on helping young people progress with their lives by giving them the skills needed to get into a job, an apprenticeship or return to full time education.

Who can take part?

Your Time London North & East is open to young people aged 16-24 not in education, employment or training (NEET) in these local authority areas:

Barking & Dagenham, Bexley, Bromley, Enfield, Greenwich, Havering, Newham, Redbridge and Waltham Forest (Local London)

What's involved?

Young people can contact us directly and we also work closely with local authorities, schools, colleges, training providers, voluntary sector organisations, employers and other ESF provision to identify young people who would benefit from our programme.

We provide support in the skills needed to get a job, careers advice and provide information on the types of jobs and industries available in the local area so young people can assess and explore their opportunities.

The programme covers subjects including confidence and motivation building, employability skills, managing personal finance, as well as optional subjects like completing an IT qualification.

The programme helps young people to:

• develop the knowledge, skills and experience to successfully get a job
• equip themselves with the skills to understand what will be required in the future workforce
• become motivated to engage with employers and move up the skills escalator to more productive, better-paid jobs of the future
• up-skill and adapt to changes in technology and working practices.

The programme supports delivery of the Mayor’s priorities that are set out in the Skills for Londoners strategy https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/business-and-economy/skills-and-training/skills-londoners-strategy-2018

We work with other organisations delivering the Mayor’s Young Londoners Fund. The Young Londoners Fund was launched to help and support children and young people to fulfil their potential, particularly those at risk of getting caught up in crime. www.london.gov.uk/mayors-young-londoners-fund

Your Time -
Derby City, Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire

Your Time is a programme specially developed to support young people who are between 15 and 24 and are not in education, employment or training (NEET) or they are at risk of becoming NEET.

Our programme focuses on helping young people progress with their lives by giving them the skills needed to get into a job, an apprenticeship or return to full time education.

Who can take part?

Your Time - Derby City, Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire is open to young people between the ages of 15 and 24 who are not in employment, education & training in these local authority areas:

Amber Valley, Bolsover (SCR), Chesterfield (SCR), Derby City, Derbyshire County Council, Derbyshire Dales (SCR), Erewash, High Peak, North East Derbyshire (SCR), South Derbyshire, Ashfield, Bassetlaw (SCR), Broxtowe, Gedling, Mansfield, Nottingham County Council, Newark and Sherwood and Rushcliffe.

What's involved?

We provide support in the skills needed to get a job, careers advice and provide information on the types of jobs and industries available in the local area so young people can assess and explore their opportunities.

The programme covers subjects including confidence and motivation building, employability skills, managing personal finance, as well as optional subjects like completing an IT qualification.

The programme helps young people to:

• develop the knowledge, skills and experience to successfully get a job
• equip themselves with the skills to understand what will be required in the future workforce
• become motivated to engage with employers and move up the skills escalator to more productive, better-paid jobs of the future
• up-skill and adapt to changes in technology and working practices.

If you want to find out more, please get in touch

Your Time -
West of England

Your Time is a programme specially developed to support young people who are between 16 and 24 and are not in education, employment or training (NEET).

Our programme focuses on helping young people progress with their lives by giving them the skills needed to get into a job, an apprenticeship or return to full time education.

Who can take part?

Your Time West of England is open to young people aged 16-24 not in education, employment or training (NEET) in these local authority areas:

Bristol City Council, Bath and North East Somerset Council, North Somerset Council and South Gloucestershire Council.

In the West of England there are around 3000 young people who are currently seeking work or working but claiming in work benefits with an additional 6200 young people who are NEET and experiencing complex barriers to entering work or learning.

We particularly want to provide support to

• young people in schools who are at risk of NEET
• young people who are in alternative provision and pupil referral units
• young people with special educational needs (including family support)
• young people who have disengaged from learning throughout the year
• young people who have mental health and health needs.

What's involved?

We provide support in the skills needed to get a job, careers advice and provide information on the types of jobs and industries available in the local area so young people can assess and explore their opportunities.

The programme covers subjects including confidence and motivation building, employability skills, managing personal finance, as well as optional subjects like completing an IT qualification.

The programme helps young people to:

• develop the knowledge, skills and experience to successfully get a job
• equip themselves with the skills to understand what will be required in the future workforce
• become motivated to engage with employers and move up the skills escalator to more productive, better-paid jobs of the future
• up-skill and adapt to changes in technology and working practices.

Want to find out more, please get in touch.