SKILLS SUPPORT FOR THE WORKFORCE

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1 SKILLS SUPPORT FOR THE WORKFORCE Allows companies like us to have a trained and qualified workforce, and gives us a considerable competitive advantage over other companies who are unable to access similar funding. Hayley Cobb, training manager Bridgebank Civil Engineering

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3 WHAT IS SKILLS SUPPORT FOR THE WORKFORCE? Skills Support for the Workforce (SSW) is a multi-million pound scheme benefitting small and medium sized enterprises (SME) with less than 250 employees, offering jobspecific courses to firms in areas covered by the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). A 7 million funding contract has been allocated to help develop the skills of employees of SMEs in the area. Vision West Nottinghamshire College has lead and coordinated a consortia of providers capable of delivering across the D2N2 area, to meet the needs of local employers. The project, which will run until July 2015, is fully-funded by the European Social Fund and the Skills Funding Agency, which means training is free to businesses that are eligible for support. ELIGIBILITY The LEP has set out priority sectors for businesses eligible for the project which include biosciences, engineering and advanced manufacturing, hospitality and catering, retail and wholesaling, business and financial services, health and social care, transport, logistics and warehousing, tourism, digital media, construction, metal sectors and education. SMEs who fall under these sectors will also need to: be based in Nottinghamshire or Derbyshire have no more than 250 employees. Employees must be aged 19 or over and work a minimum of eight contracted hours per week. The college is working to deliver a co-ordinated approach to employer-related training in a variety of LEP identified priority sectors across the whole D2N2 area. This is about supporting SMEs across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire and making a real difference to their chances of success and profitability, which ultimately helps to create further jobs, benefitting the economy and local communities. David Ralph D2N2 chief executive

4 TRAINING AVAILABLE Training is tailored towards staff with low or basic skills, but the project can deliver intermediate and higher-level courses where there is an identified need, and programmes up to Level 4 are available for firms with less than 50 employees. Courses are tailored to each business, range in length and are based around priority sectors as highlighted by the LEP. Courses are undertaken in the workplace to reduce time spent off-the-job. The contract is also structured to support opportunities for employees to progress onto apprenticeships or higher level training. THE BENEFITS SSfW offers many benefits to employers and employees, as well as the local economy and local communities. Benefits for the employer: Plug your skills gaps at no extra cost Increase staff retention and loyalty Enhance productivity and effectiveness Benefits for the employee: Learn new skills Enhance career prospects Progress to higher-level training/ courses and apprenticeships No fees to pay

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6 WHAT VISION WEST NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COLLEGE HAS DELIVERED By the end of September 2014, the Vision West Nottinghamshire College consortium had delivered 2,600 learner starts, which is just under half of the proposed learners the contract will support by the end of July Below is a breakdown of courses already delivered to employees by Vision West Nottinghamshire College: 255 very short courses (5-12 credits) 874 short courses (13-24 credits) 662 medium courses (25-36 credits) 744 longer courses (37+ credits) The table below shows the top seven sectors where the largest amount of training has been delivered to learners in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. Smaller amounts of delivery has been seen in sectors including biosciences, education, metal sectors and tourism. Sector Total Number Number Learner Starts of Employers of Districts Business and Commercial Services Construction Education Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing Health and Social Care Hospitality and Catering Retail and Wholesaling

7 DISTRICT TOTAL LEARNER STARTS Amber Valley 152 Bolsover 33 Chesterfield Derbyshire Dales 56 Erewash 36 High Peak 100 North East Derbyshire 35 City of Derby 123 Ashfield 118 Bassetlaw 86 Broxtowe 131 Gedling 87 Mansfield Newark and Sherwood Rushcliffe 120 City of Nottingham 312

8 CASE STUDIES Currently some of our care staff are undertaking the Essential Skills for Care course. The course has benefited the staff tremendously. I would like to mention in particular the Dementia aspect of the course as it gives my staff a better understanding of the behaviours of people with dementia and highlights practical considerations of how to support them better. The skills and knowledge can be implemented straight away which makes them better equipped to provide a better quality of person centred care to the people they support with Dementia. Stephanie Palmer, Real Quality Care

9 BENNINGTON FOODS LTD Newark, Nottinghamshire Bennington Foods Ltd, a pet food manufacturers based in Nottinghamshire, has developed from a small local enterprise to a medium company, with a research development department that is now supplying overseas markets, as well as large national pet food names. The current 26 cohort of staff on the production factory have undertaken crucial Food Manufacturing Safety Training under the ESF unit offer to enable them to meet the exacting standards of national retail contracts and overseas exporting regulations. These same staff will now progress to full apprenticeship frameworks, and this newlyskilled workforce will be able to support the company in meeting requirements of new market expansion opportunities in Europe and South Africa. BRIDGEBANK CIVIL ENGINEERING Mansfield, Nottinghamshire Bridgebank, a medium-sized civil engineering company based in Nottinghamshire, specialise in construction of roads and sewers, and supply and fix groundworks both in the housing and commercial sectors. The contractors that Bridgebank work alongside require all employees to be CSCS and CPCS compliant before being allowed to bid for and undertake work on their projects. The funding provided by SSfW has benefited the company in allowing them to source training for the workforce. This training has allowed staff to become fully CSCS and CPCS compliant meaning that they are in a position to bid for more work and grow their business.

10 PRINCIPAL CONTRACTING LTD Mapperley, Nottingham Local groundworks company, Principal Contracting Limited (PCL) has recently finished working on the new Costa Coffee outlet on Chilwell Retail Park on behalf of building contractors Marshalls. PCL were hired by Marshalls to complete the labour, plant and materials for the project. The company used the flexibility of the provision to access Level 2 plant ops courses, Level 3 supervisor and Level 6 management courses all of which allowed them to improve performance and delivery against existing contracts. THE BARCODE WAREHOUSE LTD Newark, Nottinghamshire Barcode started as a small family business venture and has now grown to become the UK s leading solutions provider in the barcode sector. Recent expansion has seen the team grow to over 100 employees and there is now a need to upskill existing staff to step-up the demands of new national and European client contracts, and a shift in company culture. Training and development action plans were implemented to support the company s need to meet new contractual agreements and expansion. Existing warehouse and officebased staff have begun training in Level 2 unit bundles to cover logistic operations, warehousing and storage, business administration, customer service and team leadership. Once the units have been achieved, it is anticipated that these staff will progress onto apprenticeship frameworks, suited to individual job roles.

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12 INTERESTED? Skills Support for the Workforce has already supported over 2,500 employees from more than 700 local employers allowing them to access free, flexible provision in their workplace to improve skills and help local businesses grow. If you are an SME based in Derbyshire or Nottinghamshire and are interested in accessing workplace training for your employees contact Mandy Gooding on or SKILLS SUPPORT FOR THE WORKFORCE Vision West Nottinghamshire College, Derby Road, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, NG18 5BH