THE West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has awarded £9million funding for job training packages aimed at getting unemployed people back into work to support the region’s economic recovery.
The funding will be delivered through the Sector Based Work Academy Program (SWAP) and is designed to quickly train up people with the skills businesses need in sectors such as care, construction and warehousing.
The SWAP programme is based on job vacancies highlighted by employers and those taking part not only receive training tailored to the role but are also get work experience and a guaranteed job interview.
Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands and chair of the WMCA, said: “We know there is a shortage of workers in sectors such as care, construction, digital and warehousing, and so this latest targeted intervention will help tackle that and support some of our unemployed residents back into work.”
In an innovative approach to SWAP training the £9m three-year contract has been awarded to Oldbury-based training specialist BCTG to develop a consortium of training providers to deliver the programme region-wide.
Chris Luty, BCTG Group chief executive, said: “We already know the SWAP programme is a really effective way to access high quality training that leads to long term jobs and for employers it’s a simple route to access applicants matched to their vacancies.”
SWAP training is run in conjunction with The Department for Work and Pensions and provides a route to retrain quickly for residents seeking work.
