Black Country colleges declare all systems go for Skills Accelerator workforce initiative

A workforce training initiative for technical skills has been launched by five Black Country colleges, with support from local industry bodies.

Skills Accelerator encourages employers to sign up their staff for free digital/IT and new technologies-basedtraining, paving the way for them to access higher level training.  The initiative has been developed in response to priorities outlined in the government’s Skills for Jobs white paper for reshaping the technical skills of the local labour market and wider economy.

15 short courses will be delivered by Dudley College, Halesowen College, Sandwell College, Walsall College and City of Wolverhampton College between now and March.  Training areas include cybersecurity, website design, 3D printing and business improvement techniques.

Jacquie Carman, Skills Accelerator Project Lead and Vice Principal at Halesowen College said: “The Black Country Colleges are delighted to be working in partnership to deliver the Skills Accelerator project across our region.  We aim to encourage employers to capitalise on new ways of working aligned to their changing skills needs and labour market demand.

“We look forward to starting conversations with local businesses and delivering a selection of training designed to help them flourish in a post-pandemic, digitally-focused world”.

A launch event hosted at Walsall College was attended by representatives from the Black Country Chamber and local businesses, including Prospect Coaches and Smile Education, along with representatives from each college.

To view the full Skills Accelerator course offer visit https://bit.ly/3FZSjlt

For further information about Halesowen College’s offer, which includes Reshoring, Digital Marketing and Cyber Security, visit https://www.halesowen.ac.uk/skills-accelerator-programme/