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Relaunch Of Skills Training Programme

Serco
04 July 2018
 

29 June saw Serco mark UK Employability Day by relaunching its Skills Support for the Workforce (SSW) programme developed to upskill employees of small and medium sized businesses, in a number of regions of the UK using a £9 million training pot.

UK Employability Day is coordinated by the Employment Related Services Association (ERSA), the representative body for those delivering or with an interest in employment support services.

Serco’s Employment, Skills & Enterprise business has been awarded a contract extension by the Education and Skills Funding Agency to continue delivering 14 SSW programmes and 1 Apprenticeship Services programme. As part of the SSW relaunch Serco will continue providing fully funded training until March 2019, in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Dorset, Swindon & Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, South-East Midlands, Coventry & Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Stoke & Staffordshire.

Since the programme began in September 2016, 18,347 learners from 4,119 businesses have taken advantage of the funded training available.

Serco delivers these programmes on behalf of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) to provide a range of courses such as IT, leadership and management training, as well as vocationally relevant training targeting specific areas of improvement. The overall focus is to help support growth in priority areas such as engineering and manufacturing, retail, creative industries and construction, helping to boost the wider, regional economy.

As part of the programmes, co-funded by the European Social Fund and the Education and Skills Funding Agency, Serco has partnered with expert training providers to offer local businesses recognised accredited qualifications and bespoke training courses aiming to enhance employees’ skills and increase the competitiveness of local businesses.

Businesses can select from a range of qualifications or mix and match individual units to support their work. The courses, which can take place at the employees’ workplace, range from a few hours’ training, to units of NVQ or other qualifications. Programme participants have benefited from increased employee confidence, motivation and productivity and businesses have reported improved employee loyalty and retention.

Commenting on UK Employability Day and the relaunch of SSW, Rob Matts, Serco’s Head of Skills Support for the Workforce, said: “UK Employability Day is a crucial day of recognition for the employment support sector and underlines the critical work of providers.

“It allows us to showcase our service offer and the hard work of our teams and delivery partners and, on that note, we are delighted that the Education and Skills Funding agency are trusting Serco to continue to support employees and small businesses through Skills Support for the Workforce.

“Thousands of people have benefited from Skills Support for the Workforce already and I would urge businesses to make the most of the funding available before March 2019, so that they too can benefit from this investment in vital skills training.”

Businesses can contact skillssupport@serco.com or visit www.serco-ssw.com for more details and to find out if they are eligible. For Heart of the South West (Devon and Somerset) Apprenticeship Services please contact hotswapprenticeships@serco.com or 01752 968026.

Picture: Serco has relaunched its Skills Support for the Workforce programme.

 

Article written by Brian Shillibeer | Published 04 July 2018

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