An £8million programme to help businesses retrain staff, boost skills and create jobs and work placements is being launched across the Bristol and Bath region.
Workforce for the Future is a free scheme being run by the West of England Combined Authority (Weca) to help companies respond to workforce needs in the wake of Covid-19.
The programme – led by Weca and co-funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) – will help SMEs develop their workforce, looking at current and future needs.
According to Weca, the idea is to help businesses identify and address skills gaps by retraining employees in areas that will drive business growth, such as digital.
West of England Mayor Tim Bowles said: “Backing our businesses with the skills they need to emerge strongly from the pandemic and protecting and securing decent jobs is at the heart of my plan for our economic recovery.
“Our Workforce for the Future programme is a flagship part of that plan.
“Workforce for the future will help us adapt and evolve to the changing world and seize the opportunities that digitalisation and new technology present, supporting our businesses and shaping our talent pool to meet the needs of tomorrow.”
The service is available to SMEs, with fewer than 250 employees, that are based in Bath and North East Somerset; Bristol; North Somerset; and South Gloucestershire.
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Other support available through Weca includes a redundancy support package, Future Bright training, and the government’s Kickstart programme.
It can be accessed through Weca's regional Growth Hub which has been expanded to help businesses through Covid-19.
For more information, visit .