A new look Skills Bank that puts employers from across the Sheffield City Region in charge of their own skills and training has been launched.
Skills Bank, delivered by Calderdale College, is a business led programme developed by the Local Enterprise Partnership and using devolved government funding, matches private sector investment with public funding to help businesses invest in their workforce and improve their productivity. Funding is available to businesses that make a strong case for how the investment will deliver growth.
The service which cuts through red tape and ushers in a new culture of flexible public-sector funding works with businesses to deliver bespoke, tailor made training. It is part of a wide-ranging business support offer available through the Sheffield City Region’s Growth Hub.
Mayor of the Sheffield City Region, Dan Jarvis, said: “We’re a region that has some fantastic businesses and world class training facilities, including our Further Education Colleges, the National College for High Speed Rail and the University of Sheffield AMRC Training Centre. The Sheffield City Region Skills Bank is another important part of our work to build a skills system that delivers for businesses, communities and the economy.
Skills Bank is an example of an innovative locally designed solution and shows the benefits of devolving resources to local areas.”
James Muir, Chair of the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “Businesses tell us that publicly funded training for businesses can be hard to access and that the system is complicated. Skills Bank and our advisors can help businesses cut through this. This is good for the region, good for the profitability of businesses and helps grow the skills of our workforce. So long as a business can show that it helps boost productivity and grow our economy it should be a straightforward transaction. It’s win-win. I’m absolutely delighted that it has gone live.”
Ebrahim Dockrat, Director of Commercial Services and Partnerships at Calderdale College, said: “Skills Bank is a fantastic initiative for Sheffield City Region and we are thrilled to be in a position where we can support local businesses.
“Our focus will be on helping employers develop the skills they need to grow their business and we bring a huge amount of expertise from our many years of working closely with the Education and Skills Funding Agency on major funded training programmes.”
Businesses interested in accessing the Skills Bank can find out more at https://skillsbankscr.co.uk/
If you are an employer or a training provider and would like to find out more about Skills Bank, visit www.scrgrowthhub.co.uk/services/skills/
