At today’s Combined Authority meeting, Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram announced an investment of more than £16 million in skills education at colleges, local authorities and learning providers across the Liverpool City Region.

The funding builds on £30 million already invested in buildings, facilities and equipment for skills training in the city region.

This latest round of funding sees £12.6m allocated to 28 projects across the city region, building on £3.5m agreed by the Combined Authority in April for maintenance at the city region’s FE colleges.

Speaking about the funding, Steve Rotheram said: “Over the last two and a half years we have invested nearly £50 million to ensure that our local colleges and training providers are able to provide first class skills education to people right across the Liverpool City Region.

“Our investment will make sure that our young people will enter the world of work having had the best possible technical and vocational training. I want our workforce to be leaders in the industries of tomorrow – and that all starts with world class training.”

Mayor Joe Anderson OBE, Liverpool City Region Portfolio Holder Education, Employment and Skills, said: “This is the latest stage in our ongoing investment in the people of the City Region, and the learning facilities they need to gain the right skills to work in our new modern economy.  Our local employers are looking for better and more skilled staff so they can compete for more, better high value contracts across the world, from their base in the Liverpool City Region, and we are determined to give local people access to the opportunities that presents.”

Mary Murphy, Principal at Riverside College, said: “We have received nearly £3million from the Combined Authority in this round of funding, which will make a real difference for our learners and employers in a range of sectors facing skills shortages.  As well as helping us create fit-for-purpose learning environments in health and social care and advanced manufacturing, it will also enable us to improve the college’s energy efficiency and lower our carbon emissions.”

This Skills Capital Funding comes from the Local Growth Fund.  Local Growth Funding is awarded to the Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and invested through the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority’s Strategic Investment Fund.

Skills Capital Funding is available to provide new sites and premises, learning and skills equipment, improvements to existing facilities, maintenance and investments in low carbon technologies.

Successful bids include:

• £2 million to Riverside College for building projects that will help provide a highly skilled future workforce for the Health and Social Care sector, as well as other successful bids totalling nearly £1 million.  The Health and Social Care project will extend existing facilities and replace outmoded accommodation with a brand new three-storey building.
• £1.98 million for Southport College to provide additional provision for construction industry specific skills, as well as £167,000 to improve the college’s energy efficiency.
• £1.45 million for City of Liverpool College to establish a Digital Employability Skills Zone and a dedicated Digital Academy, offering specialist training up to level 7, as well as £167,000 to improve the college’s energy efficiency.
• £1.1m for Sefton Council to redevelop the Cambridge Road Centre to provide a learning environment that will enable returning learners to develop the skills they need to return to the labour market in key sectors.