Funding of £10.6m has been awarded to the West of England to help young people, the long-term unemployed and those facing barriers to work develop new skills and find local, sustainable employment.
The funding, from the Skills Funding Agency, was secured through the European Social Fund (ESF) – EU funding designed to help people into better jobs and ensure fairer opportunities – and Big Lottery Fund (BLF) programmes which aim to tackle poverty and promote social inclusion.
Over the next 18 months, programmes will support more than 5,000 people and reach 6,000-plus small businesses through a range of activities by local service providers.
These will include:
- Learn Direct, which will stage a programme supporting those aged 25 and over into sustainable employment, education and apprenticeships, as well as the Your Time initiative supporting 15-24 year olds who are not in education, employment or training – so called NEETs;
- A programme of skills support, advice and guidance for people in and out of work, which will be delivered by N-Gaged Training
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West of England Works. A programme supporting at least 1,537 NEETs and adults to be being delivered by Weston College and a range of partners from the education, training and voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector.
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Skills West. A programme being delivered by Business West and Western Training Provider Network (WTPN) which will help align training and employment opportunities for the economy to thrive – with employers, education and training providers working together to equip local people with the right skills at all levels.
There will be a range of new opportunities from greater availability of face-to-face careers advice to help with CV writing and interview techniques. 
In particular, activities will seek to support disadvantaged individuals and communities, underrepresented groups and those facing complex multiple barriers.
West of England Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) chair Stephen Robertson, pictured, said: “This funding is really good news for the West of England as a condition of the award is that it directly reflects the approach of the West of England towards the development of skills.
“While unemployment is relatively low in our region compared to other parts of the country – with 9,355 claiming either JSA or Universal Credit – this new pot of money will enable a clear line of sight to employment.
“Using our local knowledge, networks and partners, this money will be used to create an all-inclusive, overarching approach that tackles the barriers to work locally, bringing education and business closer together and addressing social inclusion and diversity.”
Phil Smith, managing director of Business West – which will deliver Skills West – said: “The launch of Skills West at this crucial stage is perfect timing as businesses cannot wait to address skills shortages; they need to think smarter about their skills needs and requirements.
“That’s exactly what Skills West has been set up to do; we’ll provide a one-stop advice and referral service to ensure that businesses have the talented individuals they need to achieve business growth.”
Western Training Providers Network operations director Alex Richards added: “The current skills of individuals in the region are disconnected from the true needs of business.
“We are seeking to address this gap in partnership with Business West by connecting businesses with training providers who can provide bespoke and tailored training.
“Skills West is suitable for any business no matter what their stage of growth from start-ups, to businesses seeking to grow to those that are considering new markets.”
