| Companies
across Merseyside are discovering the SkillWorks and
reaping the benefits of placing training and learning
at the top of the business agenda.
Since the launch last year of the SkillWorks, a £12.5million
initiative aimed at delivering a comprehensive training
strategy to businesses in the region, hundreds of businesses
have been able to develop their workforces. The programme,
which is managed by the Greater Merseyside Learning
and Skills Council and backed by the European Social
Fund, meets 80 per cent of the cost of the training.
Paul Tinsley, ESF Programme Manager at the Learning
and Skills Council, says the SkillWorks has proved so
popular that more training providers have joined the
programme, following a second competitive tendering
process, and it has been extended to include Halton.
Social enterprises have also been included with their
own specific SkillWorks project.
“I think we had always realised that the SkillWorks
would be popular, as the 80/20 funding split is such
a generous offer, however, we have still been delighted
with the level of demand. By the end of February nearly
800 companies had come forward and 1,400 employees had
received training.
He adds: “In the past companies may have had to
compromise on their training because it was too expensive
for them to undertake and that may not always have been
good for the business. Now we are finding that they
can look again at the business case for
training and go ahead with it.
“There is an ongoing evaluation of the success
of this service to employers and our early results are
extremely positive.”
St Helens Chamber is one of the training providers selected
to deliver the SkillWorks and Joe O’Rourke, Training
Services Manager, agrees that the response has been
impressive. “It has gone fantastically well,”
he says.
“We have dealt with over 200 businesses and we
all feel it is the best thing since sliced bread. It
has taken training out of the box and it has given small
and medium-sized enterprises the opportunity to change
their mindset and be able to fulfil their ambitions
for developing their staff. They are now doing it because
of this very innovative programme.
“The companies are very appreciative of it because
they realise the thinking that has gone into the SkillWorks
and realise that the funding bodies have listened to
the employer base, and organisations like the Chamber,
to fulfil the needs of the companies that can really
benefit from it.”
According to Joe O’Rourke, the SkillWorks is paying
dividends for Merseyside businesses.
“In these days of highly competitive tendering
processes
companies are often asked to identify the skill levels
within their workforce and we are already hearing success
stories from companies who have gone through the process
and have won significant contracts because of the training
they have been able to put in place.
“We work with a diverse range of businesses and
since the launch of the SkillWorks we have covered every
type of training from engineering workers on the shop
floor right through to basic level training and anything
in between really. The value of training has
ranged from £1,000 to £35,000.”
Companies wishing to get involved with the SkillWorks
programme can contact the Chamber
directly. A Workforce Development Adviser will then
be assigned to the company and will remain their personal
contact throughout the entire process. The adviser will
discuss the options with the management of the company
and
put together an action plan and a training needs analysis
of the workforce will highlight the training priorities.
Using a combination of direct delivery and brokerage
the Chamber will either deliver the training to the
company, or buy it in from a specific provider.
Joe O’Rourke says: “Our Workforce Development
Advisers come from a variety of backgrounds within the
private sector and have a clear appreciation of the
training issues that both large and small companies
face.”
At the beginning of April the Chamber launched an extension
to the SkillWorks to include large companies and their
Merseyside-based SME suppliers. Large companies contribute
40% towards the cost of their training but their SME
suppliers still contribute just 20%.
“What makes this significant is that large companies
are rarely able to receive assistance in the same way
as smaller companies. This opens everything up and will
benefit many more employers”
Another significant development is the Chamber’s
new Business Training Centre, opened in April, which
is able to provide a wide range of training from leadership
and management development to health and safety and
customer care programmes. The centre is equipped with
high-tech suites, training rooms and meeting rooms to
provide flexible accommodation for all training needs
but the flexibility of the programme means that training
can also take place at companies’ premises or
at other venues.
“Partnership is a very important aspect of the
SkillWorks, for example we are working closely with
other Chambers on Merseyside to assist companies in
their areas to benefit from it. I also Chair the SkillWorks
Network which brings together the different suppliers
to give us an opportunity to discuss issues and share
good practice and constantly develop what we are doing,”
says Joe O’Rourke.
“The feedback we have received so far is extremely
complimentary and positive. We have had letters from
companies saying this has turned their business around,
or helped it to develop in a way that they had not thought
possible. Businesses say they have gone from strength
to strength, winning big contracts, growing their businesses
and helping to bring more jobs to Merseyside”.
Read
case studies fron compnaies who have benefited from
Skillworks:
Lancastrian
Labels - new skills to face a new challenge
Adlib Audio - flexibility
makes sound business sense
Lake Technologies - training keeps Lake Technologies
at the leading edge
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