Funding boost to support skills and training

More than £283,000 has been given to Malvern Hills District and Wychavon District Councils to help people into work and create the skilled workforce businesses need to succeed.

The money comes from the Government's Community Renewal Fund which supports projects trialling programmes and new approaches which will invest in skills, local businesses and employment opportunities.

The Malvern Hills and Wychavon Upskilling Project has several parts to it including:

• A survey of thousands of businesses across both districts to understand what their skills and training needs are.
• Support to help people access training courses.
• A comprehensive marketing campaign to attract applicants for training posts and courses.
• Providing subsidies to colleges and training providers to run courses that address skills gaps identified by businesses that they would otherwise be unable to deliver.

A timetable is being developed for the project which must be completed by June next year.

Both councils have made addressing skills shortages and providing more training opportunities for people key priorities.

Cllr Daniel Walton, Portfolio Holder for Economic Development and Tourism on Malvern Hills District Council, said: "We are already doing a huge amount to address the skills gap through our Your Future Workforce programme and this money will allow us to go even further to make sure businesses can recruit the people they need and our residents can access a wide range of training and employment opportunities."

Cllr Richard Morris, Executive Board Member for Economic Growth and Tourism on Wychavon District Council, said: "Businesses are facing real pressure at the moment and need people with the right skills to grow and thrive. This money will be a welcome boost to our efforts to helping address skills shortages while creating more opportunities to access training and employment."