East Durham College has been awarded £881,000 to help County Durham employers boost skills in their workforce and overcome skills gaps affecting their organisations.
Following the successful bid to Durham County Council, East Durham College has been awarded the funds to help local businesses, located in South West Durham and East Durham, with tailored training solutions to help develop their employees.
The funding is designed to help align skills training with the region’s Local Skills Improvement plan (LSIP). It will primarily focus on training needs of the advanced manufacturing, construction, health care and health science and digital sectors. It’s available to help support organisations of all sizes in both the public and private sectors.
The staff training can be designed on a bespoke basis to meet the needs of the employer and their staff, and can be provided on a flexible delivery approach: in the workplace, in college, a blend of the two, with online options also available.
Jackie Lanagan, Assistant Principal Curriculum and Partnerships at East Durham College, said: “This funding aims to build pride in place; support high-quality skills training; support pay, employment and productivity growth; and increase life chances, so we are absolutely delighted to help play our part in these important objectives.
“As the leading provider of adult education in County Durham, we are highly experienced in helping local businesses to identify skills gaps and understand how training solutions can improve their employees' skills; improving productivity and futureproofing their business.”
The funding which is available from 1st February 2024 to the end of February 2025 is designed to provide a range of different qualifications, including Level 2, technical qualifications and Level 3 which are all accredited with recognised awarding bodies.
The funding is part of the government's Levelling Up agenda which has seen changes to the approaches to funding local regeneration, businesses and employment and skills. The end of the European Structural and Investment Fund Programme (ESIF) now sees the introduction of the government’s domestic replacement, the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).
If you are a local business, located in South West or East Durham, please contact the College’s Workforce Development Team on 0191 518 5508 or email business@eastdurham.ac.uk and the team will be happy to help.
