An ambitious plan to develop career-focused skills and drive economic growth – with a major focus on securing investment to expand education and training opportunities for young people – is set to be approved.
Staffordshire County Council’s Skills for Growth Plan outlines a £150million programme to strengthen the county’s workforce. This includes £40million already secured and a further £110million being sought from the Department for Education to expand 16 to 18 education and training provision.
Through the plan the county council and its partners have set out a commitment to ensure Staffordshire has the facilities, partnerships and capacity to meet future skills demand.
One of its priorities is to build the right learning infrastructure throughout the county, following evidence that current college capacity will not meet rising demand driven by population growth and ambition.
The county council, working with local colleges and partners, has developed a detailed case for investment, highlighting the need for new and improved facilities, including college buildings and specialist technical provision. This £110million funding would help to ensure enough high-quality places for young people while supporting adults to reskill and upskill.
Without this investment, there is a risk of increasing numbers of young people missing out on education and training opportunities, alongside growing skills shortages for local employers.
The plan builds on Staffordshire’s wider ambition to be a magnet for investment, innovation and growth for all its communities, ensuring that residents can access better-paid, sustainable jobs while businesses also have access to the skilled workforce they need.
Its other core priorities are helping more people into work, strengthening careers advice for young people, and expanding lifelong learning opportunities. To support these, the county council will further develop successful programmes like the Staffordshire Jobs and Careers Service, Connect to Work, the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Careers Hub and its Community Learning courses.
Robin Hall, Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member for economy and skills, said:
It is vital that we have the right foundations in place across Staffordshire to help people develop the skills they need to secure better jobs and careers, while ensuring our businesses can access the workforce they need to grow.
That means investing in both facilities and provision. Our Skills for Growth Plan makes a strong case to Government for £110 million to expand further education capacity across the county. Combined with funding already secured, this would create a £150 million programme of investment in skills, training and employment support.
This is about creating opportunity. Every young person should be able to access high-quality education and training close to home, while businesses have the confidence to invest and expand knowing a skilled local workforce is available. Growing opportunity, raising aspirations and supporting economic growth across Staffordshire are key priorities for this administration."
The Skills for Growth Plan is set to be discussed by cabinet on Wednesday 17 June.
