Skills and Apprenticeships
Removing barriers to opportunity through training, education and support while delivering the skills to drive the Liverpool City Region economy
The Adult Skills Fund funds education and training for adults aged 19 and above in Liverpool City Region. It aims to engage adults and provide the learning they need to progress into or within work, or to equip them for further learning or training. Some of the qualifications funded through the ASF include English and Maths skills, English as a Second or other language, digital skills, employability and adult community learning.
We contract with a range of providers across Liverpool City Region to deliver these courses, including:
The Combined Authority has been responsible for funding ASF provision for LCR residents since devolution in 2019. This has enabled flexible, tailored programmes of learning to be delivered, helping learners engage in learning, build confidence, and enhance their wellbeing. Now in year five of delivery, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority will continue to tailor the skills and adult education system to address local priorities and support residents.
The Adult Skills Fund was formerly known as the Adult Education Budget (AEB). As part of the recent FE funding and accountability reforms, the Adult Education Budget is transitioning and changing terminology to the Adult Skills Fund (ASF) in the 2024 to 2025 academic year.
Our pioneering Households into Work programme has supported more than 4,000 people since its launch in 2018, But the programme goes much further than supporting people into a job.
Over the course of 12 months, a dedicated employment advocate helps people identify and overcome barriers, such as debt, poor health, redundancy and addiction in order to move forward into education, training and employment in a way which will be sustainable for them.
Across our city region, we are working to radically improve the quality and scope of apprenticeships. We are rolling out gold standard and degree-level apprenticeships for young people to address skills shortages and launched the award-winning UCAS-style apprenticeship and training portal, BeMore, in 2019.
Steve Rotheram, who started out life as an apprentice bricklayer, has prioritised ensuring that equal importance is given to both technical and academic qualifications and has sought to remove some of the barriers preventing our young people from taking on apprenticeships. The BeMore skills and careers portal has been created thanks to the Metro Mayor’s powers relating to the skills agenda, and brings together apprenticeship opportunities from employers so that prospective apprentices in the Liverpool City Region can find the local information they need in one place.
Our Skills Survey revealed that one of the key barriers to young people taking up apprenticeship opportunities was the cost of travelling to work. While students at our colleges and universities had access to discounted travel, this was not the case for those taking the technical route.
The Apprentice Travelcard means young people enrolled in apprenticeships can get half price bus or train travel across Merseyside when buying weekly and four-weekly Solo tickets or weekly and monthly Railpass tickets. It is available for anyone aged between 19 and 24 years old living in the Liverpool City Region who’s currently enrolled on an approved apprenticeship with an Education and Skills funding agency.
The Youth Combined Authority was established in 2022 and is made up of young people from all over our city region. They meet weekly and are involved in a range of projects and campaigns designed to ensure the voices of young people are heard loud and clear as the Mayor and Combined Authority make decisions in areas such as employment and skills, transport, housing, the environment and culture. Find out more about the YCA here.
Skills Bootcamps provide flexible hands-on courses lasting up to 16 weeks, which are part of the government’s Levelling Up agenda and Lifetime Skills Guarantee.
The aim is to help participants find jobs in a range of growing sectors across the Liverpool City Region and help employers to close skills gaps.
Are you a young person or do you work with young people aged 13 plus? If so, we’d love you to join Youth Impact, a network established by the Mayor to enable young people’s voices to be heard as part of the decision-making process. By being a member, you not only get the chance to influence the big decisions that affect us all but you’ll also gain access to a host of development opportunities and widen your social circle. So what are you waiting for?
We are working with our 6 local authorities and other partners to support our Early Years workforce: developing further opportunities to enter and progress in the sector, and promoting Early Years as a valued, skilled and rewarding career of choice.