News / West of England Combined Authority
£4.5m skills investment in Bristol region
A £4.5m skills innovation fund has been set up to connect talent in the West of England with potential employers.
Regional leaders say the investment opens up opportunities for both businesses and people in Bristol, Bath and South Gloucestershire and forms part of a wider bid to create nationally-recognised centres of excellence to drive innovation and employment.
The investment has been approved by the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) and will support another bid for £4m from the European Social Fund, to link small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with potential employees.
Proposals for three new talent institutes also took a step forward after WECA agreed to fund a £100,000 feasibility study to explore their potential. The aim is to build on activities already happening in the region and involve local organisations in developing this further.
Tim Bowles has welcomed the investment
Tim Bowles, the regional mayor and chair of WECA, said: “This is great news – we have many high-quality jobs and we need to give locally-grown talent every opportunity to secure employment by making sure they have the right skills for our businesses.
“I’m looking forward to seeing plans for the talent institutes develop. These would replicate best practice from around the world, where multiple businesses come together to interact, collaborate and learn.
“They would help make businesses more effective – generating new products that are marketplace-ready and employing, directly and indirectly, a diverse and productive workforce. The talent institutes could also connect with and inspire those furthest from employment.”
The vice chancellors of Bristol University and Bath Spa University have both expressed early support for the talent institutes initiative.
Bristol University bosses have welcomed the bid to create talent institutes (photo: plans for the new £300m campus by Temple Meads)
Bristol mayor Marvin Rees said: “This new investment offers many opportunities, but we must make sure we draw on the wealth of experience that already exists within our local area, and reach out into communities that haven’t yet benefited from our region’s economic success.”
Main photo courtesy of Destination Bristol
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
