£49m boost to improve skills across region
WEST Midland businesses and jobseekers have received a major boost with the announcement of a £49 million skills deal for the region.
Education Secretary Damian Hinds visited Dudley College on Wednesday to make the announcement, with a deal worth up to £69 million in total.
The money will go towards digital and technical training, improving job opportunities and supporting more young people and adults into work, while there will also be opportunities for upskilling and retraining.
Up to £49 million of the investment will come from the Department for Education, while the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) will invest £20 million as part of its Skills Plan. The new deal will include: Hundreds of new apprenticeships at small and medium sized businesses in priority areas such as construction, automotive and digital sectors;
Investment in local colleges, improving equipment and facili- ties to teach the skills the region needs;
Up to £5 million in funding to work with employers to develop a National Retraining Scheme (NRS) pilot to drive adult learning and retraining;
£1 million toward a new West Midlands career hub, to improve careers advice for young people;
A new online portal for businesses to share work experience opportunities with schools;
The skills shortage is one of the biggest challenges facing the West Midlands today, with employers constantly citing it as their top concern when recruiting.
Despite the region’s recent economic boom, youth unemployment has remained stubbornly high, something which the skills deal will also seek to target.
“Every time I speak to businesses in West Midlands, the number one issue that keeps getting fed back to me as the barrier for growth is skills,” said Mayor Andy Street.
“We know best the challenges facing West Midlands businesses and, among the colleges and educational institutions, we know how to tackle them. This deal means more apprenticeships and more money for adult education, career advice and technical education which is brilliant news for both businesses and young people.”
Mr Hinds said that the new deal would help to boost the productivity of what he referred to as the country’s ‘engine’.
“The West Midlands is the engine of our thriving economy, but we want to make sure even more local people have the skills they need to get on in life, while also boosting the region’s productivity and technical expertise,” he said.