A range of apprenticeship opportunities have become available at Liverpool John Moores University…
employer support
Our team of impartial Skills Brokers can help you to access funding, local grants and government incentive schemes to help up-skill or re-skill your employees. We can also support you to recruit new apprentices as well as identifying apprenticeship routes for existing employees. 10094F
There are many ways in which the team can support organisations/businesses, use the following buttons to be directed towards some of the ways in which they can help.
WELCOME
An adaptable workforce equipped with the right skills is critical to future and sustainable growth. If you are a business operating in the Liverpool City Region and are looking for support to recruit and train new staff, or to upskill your existing workforce then contact our Skills Broker team.
Our Skills Brokers provide free impartial expert advice and support and will work on your behalf to ensure you receive the training you need and that you can access appropriate funding where available.
The Skills Brokerage Service is a free service funded by the European Social Fund and Strategic Investment Fund.
HOW IT WORKS
Whether you are self employed, a small and medium-sized enterprise, or a large employer, working in any sector across the Liverpool City Region our team of experts is waiting to hear from you.
- One of our experienced Skills Brokers will arrange a time with you personally, to understand your businesses current and future skills needs
- Our Skills Broker team will undertake research and identify appropriate funding streams and training providers for you
- A custom made training plan will be developed to facilitate skills solutions
- Our Skills Brokers are here for you and will stay in touch should you require any additional training or support in the future
USING THE SERVICE
Finding the time to plan training is never easy, especially when you have a business to run.
Even when you do find the time, finding the training – and the money to pay for it – is often just as hard. Our aim is to connect the dots between local businesses and training providers, making the most of funding available to deliver the skills you need.
Our Skills Brokers know the training landscape inside out. They will do the hard work for you, free of charge, helping you to get your training back on track.
We can help your business in a variety of ways, including: Bespoke assessment and advice, easy access to funding, making the most of apprenticeships, training course selection and recruitment
Explore the support options further…
Bespoke assessment and advice
We know that every business is different, so instead of you searching for providers yourself, we take the time to talk so that we can get to know your business and identify your plans and ambitions, challenges and opportunities. Based on this understanding, we’ll work with you to build a bespoke skills and training plan that is right for the individual members of your team and for your business as a whole, both now and in the future.
Easy access to funding
One of the biggest barriers to training is often the cost. Our Skills Brokers are fully aware of the range of funding available for skills across the City Region, and can help you to find and apply for funding.
Making the most of apprenticeships
Apprentices offer companies and organisations across multiple sectors, and of all sizes, a fantastic opportunity to create a skilled, motivated and adaptable workforce. Whether you are an apprenticeship levy paying organisation or not, our Skills Brokers can work with you to utilise existing apprenticeship funding and ensure you can access both national and local incentivised grants. Skills Brokers can also facilitate apprenticeship levy transfer, keeping levy funding within the City Region to benefit local businesses.
Course selection
We have a wide range of courses available to help bridge any skills gaps you may have in your business. Our Skills Brokers will be able to talk through just what courses and funding is available for your business.
Recruitment
We can support employers to understand the whole range of funding streams available across the City Region which can assist employers to recruit new staff as well as providing ongoing skills development to retain existing staff.
BRIDGING THE SKILLS GAP
Unemployment and inactivity are two of the biggest economic and social issues facing the UK, with national statistics highlighting that 11.3% of people aged 16-24 are currently unemployed.
This compares with a figure from the latest data of 10.1% for the Liverpool City Region; with a population of around 1.5 million, this accounts for roughly 10,000 people in the same age bracket.
These figures certainly point to a skills gap both across the country and in our region. But alongside this, many people currently in employment are lacking the skills necessary to take the next steps to progress in their careers. Therefore, upskilling both those in and out of employment is paramount to the economic prosperity of LCR.
Let’s explore this further…
What is the skills gap, which skills are people lacking and which industries need help?
The skills gap refers to a fundamental disconnect between the skills that employers require from their employees and the skills that jobseekers possess. In LCR, there are various basic employability skills that people are not developing which are widening this gap.
These skills include literacy, numeracy, written and verbal communication, and digital proficiency – including the use of basic software and programmes. These skills are vital in order to thrive in the workplace, as well as being an essential building block of everyday life.
In LCR, there are five main job roles which currently possess a high demand for upskilled workers – these are nurses, social care workers, HGV drivers, warehouse workers, and customer service advisors. However, the skills gap exists on a much broader scale and the need to upskill the workforce will benefit both employers and employees in almost every sector.
What can we do to bridge the skills gap in LCR?
Getting people into apprenticeships across the region is an important part of bridging the existing skills gap, allowing people to learn on the job and develop new skills. Apprenticeships and practical courses provide highly relevant learning opportunities to those who undertake them, as well as equipping businesses with strong workforces to enable LCR to thrive.
An apprenticeship is a job with training which provides valuable and transferrable skills and knowledge, helping individuals to develop their chosen career. Compared to more traditional routes, such as further and higher education, apprenticeships provide real workplace experience, the opportunity to develop communication and life skills, and the chance to ‘earn while you learn’.
As well as equipping people with the skills and qualifications they need to pursue a career in their chosen field, apprenticeships offer considerable value to employers.
According to government statistics, 74% of employers say that apprentices improve product and service quality, and 78% report improved productivity across the board, demonstrating the mutually beneficial relationship between apprentices and employers.
As a skills portal connecting employers and employees with learning and development opportunities, Be More is actively working to remedy the skills gap in LCR, providing businesses with opportunities to upskill, grow talent and develop the most qualified workforce possible.
From March to September, LCR-based employers will also be able to access a wide range of fully funded courses. These courses are drawn from four key areas that have been identified by LCR businesses as particular skills requirements for their workforces: Basic Business Skills, Soft Support Skills, Leadership & Management & Hospitality.
With so many options for developing your team, it can be hard to know where to start. Our Skills Brokers can help you with that too – identifying the most appropriate avenues for you to pursue. Skills Brokers work with employers in all sectors across LCR to help plug skills gaps and to identify funding routes, as well as local providers who can deliver the training they require.
Be More funding can be used to support bespoke training as well as qualifications that cannot be funded through any other funding route. Skills Brokers, therefore, understand the skills landscape at both a funding and delivery level.
What are the benefits of investing in your existing workforce?
By upskilling current staff, overall productivity is positively impacted and the quality of the work produced by employees increases due to the broadening of knowledge. Learning and development in the workplace is also of great value in terms of knowledge sharing, allowing employees to cascade learnings to their colleagues, benefiting whole departments or indeed organisations.
Giving existing employees access to learning and development opportunities is a powerful way for employers to invest in their teams, because when employees progress, this has a material impact on the success of the business as a whole.
APPRENTICESHIP LEVY
The Apprenticeship Levy was introduced by Government in May 2017. Since then employers who have a pay bill of more than £3m per year have had to pay into their own Apprenticeship Levy account. Levy funds are paid monthly, and if unused after 24 months, are recovered by Government. It’s estimated that since May 2017 over £3.3b of Levy funding has been recovered nationally as it has been unused.
The Employer Brokerage Team within the LCR Combined Authority have been working with Levy paying employers to facilitate Levy transfer which will pay 100% of the training costs of an Apprenticeship. Levy paying employers can gift up to 50% of their Levy funds and our aim is to keep as much Levy funding as possible in the City Region to benefit local employers.
£5.1M total transferred to support Liverpool City Region employers. ROI of £138M.
1010 Apprenticeship Starts: 21 levy payers and 140 receiving organisations.
CLICK HERE to see the impact so far and how you can support the Apprenticeship Levy Transfer scheme.
EDI: EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
The creation of a diverse workforce leads to a series of company benefits and will open up of a wide range of experiences, perspectives and insights.
A diverse workforce brings fresh ideas and will drive innovation which truly reflects the world around you. By creating equality, diversity and inclusion across the total talent life cycle, you’ll not only tap into a wider talent pool and enhance performance, but also be a business that people want to work for and with.
CLICK HERE to find out more and how you can access support.
RACE EQUALITY
Working alongside the LCR Race Equality Hub and our local learning providers we can facilitate access to equality and diversity training through Adult Education Budget funding which supports employers and their employees to gain a better understanding of EDI in general.
CLICK HERE to find out more about the LCR Race Equality Hub or to access further support.
INTERNSHIPS
Supported internships are a structured, work-based study programme for 16 to 24-year-olds, who have an education, health, and care plan. The core aim of a supported internship study programme is a substantial work placement, facilitated by the support of an expert job coach.
Internships normally last for a year and include unpaid work placements of at least six months. Wherever possible, they support the young person to move into paid employment at the end of the programme.
CLICK HERE to find out more or how to access supported internships.
NEWS
RESOURCES:
A skilled workforce is at the heart of every business. As a business leader you get enquiries to work with local schools, colleges and universities – and you’ll probably have some questions given the education and skills landscape can be complex to understand.
There are many different ways to get involved – but which are the best fit for your business, and how will they help connect you to your future workforce, or boost productivity by upskilling your current team?
CLICK HERE to find out more and explore the useful resources to help you and your business.
