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Get the expertise to improve skills

IMPROVING the skills set of your existing workforce is essential to business growth, performance and prosperity.

Investment in quality training as part of a cohesive business strategy will improve staff motivation and retention, create opportunities for individual development and bring fresh prospects for business development.

It is therefore important for companies to address skills gaps amongst employees to maintain a competitive edge and impact the bottom line through profitability.

The Northamptonshire Growth Hub, which celebrates its first anniversary this month, has received num

IMPROVING the skills set of your existing workforce is essential to business growth, performance and prosperity.

Investment in quality training as part of a cohesive business strategy will improve staff motivation and retention, create opportunities for individual development and bring fresh prospects for business development.

It is therefore important for companies to address skills gaps amongst employees to maintain a competitive edge and impact the bottom line through profitability.

The Northamptonshire Growth Hub, which celebrates its first anniversary this month, has received numerous enquiries from businesses that have identified a need to develop their workforce but are unsure about the extent of support and funding available to help them do this.

The good news for Northamptonshire businesses is they have easy access to a range of funded training programmes for up-skilling staff.

Skills Support for the Workforce

Skills Support for the Workforce (SSW) is a new initiative to deliver skills support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

It offers fully funded training and qualifications to support lesser-skilled individuals in improving their career opportunities and their existing skills and knowledge through work-based learning. Since the training is financed by the European Social Fund (ESF) and funding through the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) all programmes are free.

SSW works with companies to analyse particular business needs and identify training programmes/qualifications specifically for any identified individual employee to improve their skills and competency. The training can be delivered in the work place to minimise time off the job.

Who can apply?

SSW is offered to SMEs with fewer than 250 employees, a turnover of less than €50m and in receipt of less than €200k state aid in the last three years.

The skills gaps addressed are primarily leadership and management and vocational skills; employees eligible for ESF/SFA support must have been a UK resident for more than three years, be over 19 years of age and to not hold an equivalent qualification in the same discipline.

A single point of contact

Launched in November 2013, the Northamptonshire Growth Hub has, in just 12 months, guided over 1,000 callers towards the best start-up advice, business planning, skills training and funding opportunities available locally. 95 per cent of those callers were referred to an appropriate service provider to address specific business support needs.

Calling the Growth Hub will enable easy and direct access to trained and experienced business professionals ready to help your business engender the skills your workforce needs to prosper. Call 0844 556 0101 or visit the website northamptonshiregrowthhub.co.uk

Also call 0844 556 0101 to register for Northamptonshire Growth Hub’s first anniversary Breakfast Workshop between 8.00am-9.30am on Friday 5 December 2014 at Northamptonshire County Cricket Club.

Endorsed by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS), the Growth Hub is a partnership initiative between Northamptonshire Enterprise Partnership (NEP), Northamptonshire County Council and the University of Northampton.

Companies mentioned in this article

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