Conservative Council Urges Businesses to Boost Skills

Conservative run Lichfield District Council is urging businesses to tender for skills development plan.

Lichfield District Council is part of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP).  It was set up in November 2010 and one of its aims is to help create an extra 100,000 private sector jobs across the region by 2020.

To do this, some parts of the GBSLEP work through Employment and Skills Boards to deliver a range of initiatives and programmes to boost local skills, employability and job opportunities.

In southern Staffordshire, there is a need to understand what type of skills are required across the area, and Lichfield District Council is calling on local businesses to tender for a skills development plan.

The plan will include carrying out an employer skills survey, reviewing baseline skills data, reviewing economic strategies and skills plans in South Staffordshire and across the GBSLEP area, developing a skills position statement, and creating a skills plan for the South Staffordshire area.

The skills plan will include a map of key stakeholders and communication/engagement channels, identification and initial engagement with strategically important businesses, and scoping existing business networks.

Councillor Mike Wilcox, Leader of Lichfield District Council, said, “This is an important piece of work, and will help us to understand what skills we excel in and what skills we lack in across the area.  The aim of the work is to boost skills across southern Staffordshire and ultimately help to create thousands of new jobs.”

Find out more about the tender process, but visiting www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/skillstender.  The deadline for detailed proposals is Thursday 5 September 2013.  To find out more email oliver.dove@lichfielddc.gov.uk.