Ladder for the Black Country: New one-stop shop for employers
Colleges and training providers along with the Ladder Foundation have come together to launch a new website and advertising campaign.
The move will create a one-stop shop for employers and their workforce.
Skills West Midlands and Warwickshire is part of the Local Skills and Improvement Plan (LSIP) with funding through the Department for Education’s Local Skills and Improvement Fund (LSIF).
Alongside the launch of Skills WM+W, a report has revealed detailed research and analysis into the opportunities and challenges around skills in four priority growth sectors: construction, engineering and manufacturing, digital and ICT and logistics and distribution.
Post-16 education and training providers are coming together at a crucial time to upskill and reskill the region’s workforce, promising to put employers at the heart of the skills planning process, so businesses have the people and skills they need to innovate, grow and thrive.
An advertising campaign launched this week, appearing on social media, digital outdoor posters and in online programmatic display. The campaign tells employers that “we’ve made your business our business.”
Suzie Branch-Haddow of Birmingham Metropolitan College and lead project manager of Skills WM +W said:
“Skills West Midlands and Warwickshire is a regional growth strategy.
“Many colleges and training providers are working well with employers. They tell us they are largely satisfied with the technical skills taught in colleges. But we need to go deeper, harder and faster.
“Skills WM+W is our statement of intent that will see us work better together and engage even deeper with employers. We have listened and this is the first chance to show employers what we are doing. It is massive step up for our sector and not without its challenges in a competitive market.
“We know the jobs are there; the growth potential is there. But there are serious challenges, not least in addressing acute labour shortages right now and real problems with soft and essential skills.
“This is a big opportunity. I hope employers will recognise that we see their business as our business.”
Skills West Midlands and Warwickshire is set to deliver on the Local Skills Improvement Plan published in 2023 which laid out a clear roadmap.
The plan revealed around 74 per cent of regional employers had not worked with post-16 education and training providers in the last five years. You can find out more at skillswmw.com
