New project to tackle gaps in green skills and digital skills
15th November 2023
City College Norwich is joining forces with other training providers in Norfolk and Suffolk to tackle key skills gaps, with £4.75m Government funding confirmed for a major skills project funded by the Local Skills Improvement Fund (LSIF) from the Department for Education.
Five colleges will work with educational and industry partners to support productivity and growth in the key sectors of green skills and digital skills.
Suffolk New College (who are leading on the project), City College Norwich, the College of West Anglia, East Coast College, and West Suffolk College, together with East Norfolk Sixth Form College and the University of Suffolk, are all collaborating on the project, aiming to transform training opportunities across the region.
Running until March 2025, the funding will see investment in equipment, events, teaching and training, enrichment activities for students, employer engagement, and new facilities. Thousands of students and hundreds of businesses will benefit from the investment.
The new sustainable transport workshop in the Advanced Construction and Engineering Centre.
Jo Kershaw, Vice Principal Curriculum and Quality, City College Norwich, said:
Our students and apprentices are benefitting from substantial recent investment in specialist new facilities focused on digital skills and green skills, with the opening of the Digi Tech Factory in 2021 and our Advanced Construction and Engineering Centre in February this year.
Working with employers and other education and training providers, the Local Skills Improvement Fund (LSIF) projects will enable us to go even further in addressing skills gaps and aligning post-16 technical skills with employers’ requirements.”
The Norfolk and Suffolk Chambers of Commerce are key stakeholders, ensuring the objectives of the Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) for Norfolk and Suffolk are met, with the local workforce getting the right skills and training to help businesses thrive.
Nova Fairbank, Chief Executive of Norfolk Chambers of Commerce, said:
We are delighted that our region has been successful in securing £4.75m of funding to enable greater collaborations of FE colleges and training providers to meet the employer skills needs outlined in our Local Skills Improvement Plan, published in August this year.
We look forward to the ongoing collaboration with all the colleges and providers and to continuing our mutual journey to bring business and education closer together.”