Skills key to the success of Midlands Engine says Chancellor

Business leaders have welcomed the near £400m injection of government money to spark the Midlands Engine into life.

Chancellor Philip Hammond visited Birmingham and the Black Country yesterday – the day after delivering his first Budget – to formally launch the Midlands Engine Strategy.

To help the Engine gain momentum, Mr Hammond said a key element of the strategy was the investment of £392m into the region through the Local Growth Fund.

Much of the focus will be on skills development and in recognition of this, the Chancellor opted to mark the launch by visiting Dudley College, where he spoke to students about their future plans.

He said the £392m had been well received but the region now had to deliver on its potential.

“Dudley College epitomises everything we are trying to do,” said Mr Hammond.

Speaking in an interview with TheBusinessDesk.com, he said: “The college is a place where businesses can come together. The days when businesses needed to worry about where they got their money and their markets from is being replaced by where they get their skills.

“It’s become the most basic raw material for the future of our economy. We need to secure that talent for the next generation to ensure that our economy is sustained.

“We have put money in to invest in infrastructure as part of the £23bn pot announced at the Autumn Statement but if we want that to succeed then we have to invest in skills.”

Accompanying Mr Hammond was Conservative candidate for the West Midlands Mayoral election, Andy Street.

In his former role as chair of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership, Mr Street championed the development of skills across the LEP.

The Work Coaches programme was introduced by the LEP and succeeded in putting 15,000 people into jobs in the most disadvantaged parts of the region.

Mr Street said the approval of £12m in the Midlands Engine Strategy to roll out a vital programme of skills development would build on the Work Coaches programme.

“Eradicating youth unemployment in the West Midlands is one of my key pledges ahead of the election on May 4. Rolling out the Work Coaches programme to the whole West Midlands was one of the key ways of achieving this ambitious target,” he said.

“So, I am delighted that the Chancellor has approved the £12m to do just this.

“The West Midlands is on the up – this is demonstrated by our rising private sector employment, exports and inward investment.”

Mr Street’s successor as head of the LEP, Steve Hollis, also welcomed the initiative.

“A focus on connectivity, skills, enterprise and innovation, trade and investment and quality of life to drive productivity are all things the GBSLEP has recognised as being critical to realising our full potential. Additional Government support in these areas is therefore positive,” he said.

“The ambition to close the skills gaps between the Midlands and the rest of the UK is essential for the region’s growth. The Work Coaches programme that has been operating across Birmingham and Solihull for the last two years has had significant success in getting local people into local jobs. The funding to roll-out this initiative out across the WMCA area is therefore welcomed.”

Cllr Bob Sleigh, chair of the West Midlands Combined Authority, said the unveiling of the Midlands Engine was a key milestone on the road to delivering greater prosperity for the region.

He said the strategy complemented the WMCA’s own strategic economic plan (SEP) Making Our Mark.

He said: “The SEP is our plan to deliver greater jobs and prosperity to this region and the announcement of the Midland Engine Strategy gives us the tools to do the job.

“The WMCA will soon have a directly-elected mayor able to use powers over skills, transport and planning to drive local growth while HS2 will place the Midlands at the heart of England’s high speed rail network, making it an even more attractive place for people to live and work, and for companies to do business.”