A Staffordshire training provider has made a bold commitment to support up to 1,000 people towards a new job by the end of the year – after securing almost £2.5 million funding through three vital employability schemes.
Acacia Training says 600 people aged 19 to 23 will benefit from £1.3 million of funding to gain at level 2 or level 3 qualification in care, sports and fitness, beauty or IT.
The funding is part of the Government’s ‘statutory entitlements’ commitment which is drawn from the Adult Education Budget.
READ MORE: Tile Mountain Group launches recruitment drive to fill 20 new jobs
Meanwhile, adults over the age of 24 will benefit from funding to complete an A-Level equivalent qualification in residential childcare, health and social care, or cyber security and coding – thanks to £500,000 from the National Skills Fund.
And job-seekers of all ages will benefit from work placements thanks to £500,000 funding from the Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP) – creating important opportunities for people who are unemployed, whilst supporting employers to create a skilled workforce, recover and grow following the pandemic.
Cheryl Shepherd, head of employability at Trentham-based Acacia Training, said: "Economic recovery and ongoing resilience is dependent on businesses having access to a sufficient supply of appropriately trained employees, to meet both current and future needs.
"By working collaboratively with employers and learners, we can ensure that the right opportunities are created and filled by those with the appropriate skills and experience.
Most Read
"Importantly, these are valuable and skilled jobs in sectors that meaningfully contribute to continued economic recovery and growth."
Sign up for your free West Midlands newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn
Email newsletters
BusinessLive is your home for business news from across the West Midlands including Birmingham, the Black Country, Solihull, Coventry and Staffordshire.
Click through here to sign up for our email newsletter and also view the broad range of other bulletins we offer including weekly sector-specific updates.
We will also send out 'Breaking News' emails for any stories which must be seen right away.
For all the latest stories, views and polls, follow our
Acacia Training also continues to actively work with nationwide employers and the Job Centre Plus to deliver the Government’s flagship Kickstart programme, providing 16 to 24-year-olds with high-quality work placements.
The company has worked with employers and Job Centre Plus to create over 1,500 live vacancies across a range of sectors that include administration, marketing and sales, construction, childcare and early years, health and social care, construction, schools and education, and hospitality.
Cheryl added: "The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has been particularly pronounced amongst young people and levels of unemployment amongst the 16 to 24 cohort rose at a quicker pace during the midst of the pandemic than beforehand.
"It is important to us that we improve peoples’ lives through delivery of quality education and empower them to be able to make choices.
"We are here to ensure opportunities for career progression and these employability schemes are key to our work to support employers, stimulate economic recovery and provide lots of job opportunities for people of all ages."