Employers in the West Midlands are being offered the chance to improve the performance of their businesses by boosting the skills level of their workforce - and they can do it all on their own doorstep.
An innovative new project aimed at helping employers to improve the performance of their “bottom-line” through investment in the skills of their employees will see 20 new workplace learning centres introduced across the West Midlands. It is expected that 1400 employees will benefit from the scheme.
Discussions are at an advanced stage with several employers in Birmingham and Stoke-on-Trent. Proposals include a learning room at Birmingham New Street Station and a mobile learning centre is to be set up to cover rural areas and to act as a rapid response unit for workers who have been made redundant.
The learning centres will be managed by trade unions and will build on the Train to Gain programme run by the Trades Union Congress’s Unionlearn and the Learning and Skills Council, which promotes workforce development and provides access to training.
Regional Development Agency Advantage West Midlands is investing £458,000 in the scheme as part of a £1.85 million public and private sector funding package.
Much of the money for the workplace learning centres scheme will be spent on refurbishing and equipping existing premises, as well as paying for learning provision. Employers will be expected to make a contribution, such as providing a room or paying for broadband to be installed.
Refurbishing and equipping will be completed in time for a launch this April.
Gerard Coyne, General Secretary of Unite the Union and the trade union representative on the Board of Advantage West Midlands, said: “The key to this is that employers and employees prefer facilities to be as close as possible to their workplace in order to provide them with the flexibility they need to fit in with their busy schedules.
“This is a new and innovative project aimed at encouraging local businesses to be more competitive by improving skills and therefore stimulating the regional economy.
“It is user friendly for employers and employees and is the result of a unique partnership between unions, employers and key funding agencies.
“It also supports a crucial part of the West Midlands Economic Strategy by raising skills aspirations and progression opportunities.”
Gary O’Donnell, Regional Development Co-ordinator at Unionlearn, said: “The learning agenda could range from management and leadership skills to literacy, numeracy and IT.
“The early interest is such that we end up being could be oversubscribed.”
Trade unions will be tasked with making employers aware of the workplace learning scheme.
On offer will be 400 places for Level 3 and 4 management and leadership qualifications and 1000 places for skills for life qualifications and NVQs to Level 2.
Research suggests that one third of employers in the West Midlands believe that to become more successful and to compete more effectively they need more employees with higher level skills.