LEP secures £1m in funding to run courses to help fill job vacancies and reduce skills gaps

More than £1m in funding has been secured to run courses to help fill job vacancies and reduce skills gaps across Cheshire and Warrington. 

Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership has been awarded £1,036,653 by the Department for Education to run skills bootcamps in the sub-region. 

Skills bootcamps offer free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks – giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills and fast-track to a guaranteed interview with a local employer. 

The funding is to be used across 15 bootcamps during the coming months. 

The first three bootcamps will be in logistics (HGV driving), digital marketing and green skills and training providers and employers can apply now to provide these.

These bootcamps will provide training for 264 people across Cheshire and Warrington. It is hoped that even more training can be introduced in the future, with access to further funding rounds. 

Clare Hayward MBE, Cheshire and Warrington LEP chair, said: “This programme is important to helping us to ensure that our employers have the skilled workforce they need to thrive and grow. 

"We're committed to creating the healthiest, most sustainable, inclusive and growing economy in the UK here in Cheshire and Warrington and filling skills gaps such as in logistics, green tech and digital is crucial to making this happen. We hope that this is just the start, with more bootcamps to be delivered over the coming years as we continue to identify the skills that local businesses need to really help boost and drive our economy."

Skills Bootcamps are available for adults aged 19 and over who are either in work or recently unemployed. Training is available for employees in the public, private and voluntary sector. 

Employers will be at the heart of the bootcamps, and their role may involve recruitment onto the courses, delivery of training and offering interviews for vacancies. Bootcamps will help employers to invest in people to create and retain talent for the future.

To find out more, whether you are interested as a potential training provider, as an employer or as an individual click here