Region gains from training investment

THE government has invested £32.5m to improve skills and training in the region and help beat the downturn.

Skills secretary John Denham today said the government has invested £19m in the North West to make skills training available; and a further £13.5m to help people who have been unemployed for more than six months access training and get back into work.

The funding is part of the £4.5bn that it is spending on adult skills nationally.

Around 30,400 people in the North West used the government’s employee skills improvement programme, called Train to Gain, in the last year – more than double than in the previous year.

Lancashire saw the highest number of Train to Gain qualifications in the region last year with 4,900, up from 2,500 a year earlier.

Cheshire, Cumbria and Liverpool saw next the biggest increases in take up – each from the 600/700 mark to well over 2,000 people in each local authority.
 
Skills secretary John Denham said: “This government is offering real help now for people and businesses across the North West. We have acted to make sure that people have access to the skills and training they need to keep their jobs or get back into work.
 
“We know that people whose skills are up to date are more likely to find a good job, and that employers with well-trained staff do better than those that don’t invest in the skills of their workforce.”