Growth Company delivers Skills Support for the Workforce

The Growth Company has launched its Skills Support for the Workforce scheme to provides skills analysis, bespoke training plans and implementation of funded training to employers in Greater Manchester to upskill staff.

As well as bespoke training to respond to skills gaps analysis, the Skills Support for the Workforce contract also provides support where businesses are having to make redundancies, supporting employees with developing their employability skills, to help find alternative employment.

One business to have benefited already from the programme, is Marple-based engineering firm, Arden Dies. Despite the firm’s staff having the advantage of years of experience, their longer tenures limited the knowledge and development of more modern ways of thinking such as LEAN manufacturing processes.

The Skills Support for the Workforce team commenced training for team leaders and middle management that would allow knowledge to percolate downwards and allow the business to keep up with current trends and best practice in the manufacturing sector.

So far, 4 staff have benefitted from the completion of the LEAN course and have all progressed onto further courses. They are currently in the process of re-promoting the courses to staff and hope to increase the engagement in light of how successful the first four have been. Arden Dies is keen to now normalise a culture of providing opportunities for staff to engage with ongoing personal and professional development.

Sarah Poynter, Operations Manager at Arden Dies, was extremely happy with the result. She commented:

The program is a perfect fit for our business. The one-to-one support that our staff have received is excellent, and the communication has been good. The remote support to enable our staff to continue with their courses has been invaluable. The provision is flexible in terms of how our staff can access the course and it is very success focused so that everyone can achieve and benefit.

“It’s been an excellent support to our business, especially in the current climate to help us to move forward and bring about the positive changes needed for the future.”

Further information about the Skills Support for the Workforce scheme and how to access the programme is available from the Growth Company website or view the brochure below.

Skills Support for the Workforce is commissioned and funded by the Education & Skills Funding Agency, working in partnership with Greater Manchester LEP.