Skills Support for the Workforce
The Skills Support for the Workforce programme (SSW) helps support small & medium businesses in Worcestershire to upskill their employees with training courses & qualifications to help their business grow and boost the local economy.
We can work with you to develop a bespoke training programme relevant to your business needs, and as the SSW programme is co-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), a wide range of training can be accessed at no cost* to your business. *subject to eligibility
We have a network of expert training providers who can deliver 100s of fully funded and accredited training courses covering a range of subjects such as: IT & Digital Skills, Leadership and Management, Engineering, Manufacturing, Construction, Health and Social care, Customer Service, Business Administration, and many more.
If you would like to talk to us about the training on offer and how it might be able to support your business and employees you can contact our Partnership Coordinator for Worcestershire, Jo O'Sullivan.
Jo will have a conversation with you about your business training needs and how the programme can help your business to grow.
Serco delivers the SSW programme in partnership with Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership. The LEP have identified the following key sectors for skills support in the area:
Other sectors are also eligible to access funded training. Please see below for eligibility criteria.
The following eligibility criteria apply for anyone accessing support through Skills Support for the Workforce in Worcestershire.
We also offer support to business owners facing the prospect of making hard decisions about redundancy, and to individuals who have recently been made redundant through the Skills Support for Redundancy programme.
Contact the team for more information.
Find out if you are eligible for SSW and apply for fully funded training
HR Champions Ltd have been delivering Management Development training since the business was established in 2000. We achieved ILM (Institute of Leadership & Management) accredited status in 2002. Since then, developing managers to become outstanding leaders has been our niche.
Management Development training is our specialism; focussing on the key skills that improve productivity through more effective management.
We have courses and workshops for all levels; from growing effective teams to enabling your rising stars to transition to a Supervisor or Team Leader role through to First Line Manager. Our Senior Team and Director level training takes a strategic approach to people management.
Training is largely classroom based and delivery encompasses a range of methods such as individual and syndicate work, games and exercises to match people’s individual learning styles.
Courses are of two, three and four days, usually spread over a period of several weeks to minimise the impacts of having staff out of the business but more importantly to enable delegates to gradually and effectively implement their new skills and knowledge in the workplace.
Gateway Training Solutions has been in operation since January 2008, initially setup to help provide training, advice and guidance to SME’s. Since then we have delivered over 10,000 qualifications nationwide, engaging with over 900 employers across 30 different cities.
We believe in working with employers and learners to ensure that both parties gain from the learning experience. Gateway has achieved its growth by putting learner at the heart of the business, by focusing on developing our learners we are able to help them achieve their qualifications.
We deliver Apprenticeships, Traineeships, Pre-employment training, Standalone QCF’s, Functional Skills as well as ESF provision.
We have worked with a number of mainstream colleges including Walsall College, Stoke on Trent College, Calderdale as well as a number of consortiums and have spent over £10m worth of Train to Gain, ASB, ALR and ESF funding during this period.
Our specialist sectors include Transport & Logistics, Warehousing & Storage, Hospitality & Catering, Retail, Tourism, Education & Business and Financial Services.
We base our delivery around the needs of employers and Learners which includes classroom and work based delivery. We schedule delivery of training around the working schedules of learners providing minimum disruption to work.
Flexible progressive learning from Geason Training
We are a leading construction training organisation with training centres throughout the UK and pride ourselves in the design and delivery of apprenticeship programmes from Level 2 through to Degree level. These are provided in the workplace and tailored to suit our clients' individual needs.
Our approach is to work in total partnership with the employer, and in doing so we become an extension to your business by providing you with an all-inclusive training and development solution. Our organisation wide training needs analysis will identify and map existing and potential new job roles across all levels to relevant apprenticeships.
We will manage your funding options through our free dedicated Apprenticeship and CITB Levy consultation and support service for employers, enabling you to maximise the return on investment from the Levy. As we keep our ear to the ground when it comes to changes in Government funding we are able to regularly communicate government directives in an accessible way.
Established as a Training Provider in 1996, protocol is currently an approved Work Based Training Provider for the West Midlands. (PCS is part of the Protocol Group of Companies and is a trading name of Transworld Publications Services Ltd). Work undertaken is mainly in the Midlands area, through government funding although we are prepared to travel anywhere in the UK should it be necessary for the delivery of Skills Support for the Workforce, Apprenticeships and Advanced Apprenticeships. We also undertake Consultancy work in management and skills training. We have developed our own virtual learning environment that allows remote access.
We have an established track record of delivering SSW across local LEP areas offering SMEs various training options. Our breadth of experience and expertise enables us to provide focused consultancy and really add value to your business in a variety of contexts. With a blended learning option, tailored to employer requirements, we can deliver both clasroom-led and virtual learning.
Protocol holds the followng accreditation:
Our specialism is in IT training and creating E-Learning resources. We have previously worked on the SSW2 programme in partnership with Serco.
We typically deliver on-site at the employers, but external training can be arranged. We bring a suite of laptops so any candidates without one can still participate.
Skills Ladder ltd deliver training from level 1 to level 3 in all things IT. This covers a wide variety of topics such as Spreadsheets, Word Processing, PowerPoint, Outlook, Windows 10, Internet Security, Social Media.
Pathway Group is a leading Regional Skills Provider with a vision of Changing Lives Through Skills and Work.
As an ESFA prime provider, we are proud of having been rated as ‘Good’ by Ofsted, in 2016. We also hold quality standards, such as ISO9001, and Matrix; and have a track-record of investing in our workforce- as accredited by the Investors in People Silver Standard. For the past 15 years, we have been at the forefront of supporting individuals through their journey into and during employment, delivering qualifications tailored to job outcomes, linked to employers.
We exist to encourage and advance employment opportunities by matching the needs of business, individuals and communities. We do this by having a relentless focus to add value, delivering positive outcomes and ensuring that we put our relationship first, leading us to be your partner of choice. We provide a broad range of skills development programmes from a training room to the workplace, helping people to qualify and develop skills for employment and their career. We have a passion in providing our learners with career opportunities through the delivery of traineeships and adult education programmes through to employability and other youth initiatives.
Based just outside Birmingham City Centre, our highly skilled team of employees are on hand to guide partners, employers, learners and parents through the various options there are to gaining qualifications, experience in the workplace, and employment.
Specialists in workforce development, we are at the forefront of supporting levy paying employers though the change in landscape of apprenticeship delivery and we understand the importance of developing and maintaining relationships that last.
BDM is a fast growing, quality driven organisation dedicated to providing our customers with best value training and business growth services.
We pride ourselves in working closely with large and small businesses to develop flexible training courses and apprenticeship programmes that truly reflect on actual business needs and demonstrate actual measurable impact.
Business Development Midlands have been members of the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM), the UKs foremost Management and Leadership awarding body, for the past 12 years. This partnership, and our direct claims status, allows us to develop credible, flexible and business specific training programmes.
Some examples of the courses we offer include:
All courses we offer can be customised to suit the companies needs and when necessary can be delivered at one of our venues or in house (dependent on numbers).
CPC Training Consultants Ltd (CPC), successfully deliver; Work Based, Classroom Based and On-line ESF & AEB funded learning across Worcestershire, The Black Country, East Staffordshire, Birmingham and Solihull since 2010.
CPC is registered on the ESFA’s RoTO and has Matrix accreditation.
Our focus is supporting both employed and unemployed adults in the Midland’s region in gaining the skills and knowledge to advance their careers or to gain sustainable employment.
The programmes successfully support individuals within the Engineering, Manufacturing, Transport and Warehousing sectors. Between 450 and 500 individuals benefit from the programmes annually.
The programmes offered range from nationally recognised qualifications to bespoke courses specific to employers and individuals including;
CPC has robust relationships with the JCP, DWP, LEP, National Careers Service, Third Sector and hundreds of local employers across the region.
We are proud of our achievement, quality of delivery, success rates, and destination data.
TCHC Group Limited was set up in August 2004. Since then TCHC has grown rapidly and gained a wealth of experience working with organisations including the Education and Skills Funding Agency, The National Lottery Community Fund, Department for Work and Pensions, Local Authorities including the Greater London Authority, and Local Enterprise Partnerships. TCHC offers a wide range of training and workforce development solutions for individuals and employers across all industry sectors.
Our current workforce development portfolio includes a wide range of training options from short courses (2-Days) to longer term programmes, including Apprenticeships, covering sectors including Digital Skills (IT, Excel, Social Media), Customer Service, Business Administration, Functional Skills, Team Leading and Management, Accountancy, Equality & Diversity, Security Training and much more. Training is tailored to the needs of the organisation and its workforce and can be delivered face-to-face in the classroom or remotely though Teams or Zoom.
Pilot IMS is a well-established and highly respected national training provider with many years of experience delivering Skills, Welfare, Justice and Youth programmes for public and private partners. We passionately believe in helping business to bring workplace skills to life and in developing individuals from all backgrounds to make the most of the opportunities available to them.
Our experienced, highly qualified, professional and engaging team has a strong reputation, that is evidenced through exceptional feedback from individuals, employers and commissioners. Pilots fantastic performance is achieved through staff dedication, commitment and loyalty.
We build long lasting and meaningful business relationships through the provision of high impact, flexible training & recruitment programmes, specialising in a number of priority sectors including, Logistic, Warehousing, Manufacturing, Engineering and Business Management.
