£45m boost for SMEs and job training
A£45M funding package to help SMEs in Wales grow and support thousands of people to train to work in key sectors, including as chefs and HGV drivers, is being made available by the Welsh Government.
As part of the package, £35m has been assigned to enable SMEs to relaunch, develop, decarbonise and grow. The funding aims to support more than 1,000 businesses, helping to create 2,000 new jobs and safeguard a further 4,000 jobs.
The funding, from the existing budget of Economy Minister Vaughan Gething, will be administered by local authorities. Firms will be able to draw down up to £50,000 of non-repayable finance, with successful applications having to secure match funding.
In a joint initiative with Mr Gething, Minister for Education and Welsh Language Jeremy Miles is making a further £10m available to boost personal learning accounts.
This will enable further education colleges to deliver additional courses and qualifications which will help 2,000 people access a wider range of job opportunities in priority sectors facing labour shortages.
Funding will be specifically targeted at re-engaging and retraining staff to return to work in the NHS and in social care. It will also support the training of more HGV lorry drivers, reskilling individuals to respond to new job opportunities in green construction and renewable energy, and to ensure there are more trained chefs, waiting and front-of-house staff to work in the hospitality sector.
Mr Gething said: “The £45m package I’m announcing today is being delivered at a critical time in our economic recovery. It provides an opportunity to kick-start and grow the economy as we focus on creating a fairer, greener and prosperous future for Wales.
“The funding will offer businesses who need to reinvest – particularly following the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, our departure from the EU, and with a view to climate and Covid proofing – the opportunity to do so, in order to relaunch, develop and grow.
“We’re doing all we can to build a Wales with a prosperous, fair, green economy, where nobody is held back or left behind.”
Announcing the additional investment in personal learning accounts, Mr Miles said: “Personal learning accounts give people the opportunity to gain the skills, knowledge and qualifications they need to make progress in their career. I’m pleased we have secured an additional £10m to boost this initiative.
“This will provide opportunities for people to retrain and increase their earning potential in areas of the economy under pressure – health and social care, training for HGV drivers, hospitality and green construction.”