Skills Accelerator Programme

Background

Derby College Group (DCG) has been approved to be part of the Government’s £65m Skills Accelerator Programme. This will see money invested locally on new and innovative bespoke training programmes designed in partnership with employers to meet the skills needs of businesses now and in the future.

The focus of the Skills Accelerator Programme will be on creating high impact training and short courses that are bespoke and responsive to employers’ needs to address skills gaps and shortages – resulting in increased productivity, growth and further job creation.

DCG led a joint bid for the programme alongside Nottingham College and Burton and South Derbyshire College in consultation with local authorities, East Midlands Chamber and the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership.

The project will deliver a step change in the way that labour market information is gathered, analysed, validated and acted upon across our locality. DCG and its partners will create a structure that identifies and agilely responds to immediate need in the labour market and sets the groundwork for longer-term shaping and reform of the FE offer through a new Skills and Productivity Board.

The driving force behind the bid was the need for:

• Innovative skills solutions for the advanced manufacturing clusters around the region and the thriving professional services, digital and bioscience industries in Nottingham and Derby
• Support for high employment sectors (hospitality, tourism and high street retail) to adapt their business models to embrace new technologies and modes of trading and address current recruitment difficulties following the pandemic by focusing on transferable skills
• High quality training solutions in advance of upcoming significant economic regeneration projects across the locality including HS2 at Toton, the Radcliffe-on-Soar power station zero carbon innovation centre, the Nottingham ‘Southern Gateway’ transformation and the East Midlands Freeport.

DCG will take the lead on advanced manufacturing and process as well as a second specialist area of modern methods of construction and civil engineering.

What are we looking for?

DCG is looking for organisations from the following sectors to engage with the project to ensure that the courses offered are labour market responsive and meet local immediate skills demand:

• Digital skills
• Advanced Manufacturing
• Modern methods of construction and civil engineering
• Health and Life Sciences

The types of engagement with employers required will include:

• Working with DCG to complete of an Organisational Needs Analysis
• Validating the finding in sector analysis reports produced by DCG
• The completion of surveys and forums to understand the skills gaps within the sector
• Involvement in the development of short courses and curriculum offer
• Involvement in the delivery of CPD sessions to upskill delivery & teaching staff
• Delivery of some elements of the short courses being offered

This process will enable the partnership to understand the immediate skills priorities in our economic locality. We will utilise this intelligence to design and deliver flexible and responsive solutions to meet immediate demand.

Outputs of this pilot programme

A programme of short courses that are responsive to the needs of local employers

Development of a new college “business centre” to bring together employers and learners will be created at the

Roundhouse which is DCG’s technical and professional skills college in Pride Park.

Creation of an over-arching Skills and Productivity Board (SPB) attended by the Chamber of Commerce, the LEP, the City and County Councils, local Careers Services, FE Colleges and HEIs, with actionable information disseminated to relevant college departments to develop responsive provision to anticipated future need.

Benefits to you organisation

• Funding available to reimburse for your time
• Involvement on a high-profile government project
• Help to shape the education offer in the region
• Access to the new college “Business Centre” when completed in March 2022
• Supporting with the development of a labour market response offer that meets the skills needs and will drive up GVA.

How to get involved

If your organisation is interested in finding out more about this project and would like to get involved, please contact Businessenquiries@derby-college.ac.uk or complete the Skills Accelerator Programme – Employer Survey form.