£1.8m to deliver new digital skills secured by mayoral body

Skills Bootcamps are flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills and fast-track to an interview with a local employer.

The combined authority board agreed on Wednesday to approve the £1.8 million contract to run Skills Bootcamps – part of the Government’s Lifetime Skills Guarantee and Plan for Jobs.

The contract covers Skills Bootcamps for the East of England not just the combined authority area, and will focus on digital skills needed by local employers. The mayoral body was the only successful bidder in the East of England.

Skills Bootcamps offer skills at Level 3 or above (Level 3 is equivalent to A-Levels, an advanced technical certificate or diploma) and aim to meet the needs of employers and the wider economy. They are for people who are aged 19 or over and who are:

• Employed, self-employed, or;

• career changers/returners/redeployed, or;

• unemployed within the last 12 months.

The Department for Education has approved two providers to deliver the Skills Bootcamps: Cambridge Regional College and Purple Beard, an independent training provider.

Digital skills on offer vary from data analysis, cloud computing, DevOps, digital marketing, advanced database design and website production.

Delivery of the Skills Bootcamps will be completed by March 2022.

Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Dr Nik Johnson said: “It is fantastic that the combined authority was able to successfully bid for £1.8 million of much needed new money to help hundreds of people in the East of England get the skills they need to secure really good jobs. The East is an unsung hero in terms of the UK economy, so it is great to able to plough this funding back into our dynamic, growing region.

“Investing in giving people the skills they need to thrive will pay itself back many times over, in terms of supporting business growth and increasing productivity.

“But even more fundamentally, the link between skills levels and health, wealth and wellbeing is clear. The combined authority is building a great track record in skills delivery through our support for young people and careers, through adult education, through apprenticeships and through our Growth Works with Skills programme, connecting people with pathways to great jobs which meet the needs of employers.” 

For further information and to make enquiries, visit: growthworkswithskills.com.