Member Article

Training provider launches mission to get 1,000 people into a new job, with new employability schemes

Staffordshire-based Acacia Training has made a bold commitment to support up to 1000 people towards a new job by the end of the year, having successfully secured funding worth almost £2.5m through three vital employability schemes.

The schemes will support employers across the UK and job seekers of all ages.

600 young people aged 19 to 23 will benefit from £1.3m of funding to gain a Level 2 or Level 3 qualification in care, sports and fitness, beauty, or IT.

Adults over the age of 24 will benefit from funding to complete an A-Level equivalent qualification in residential childcare, health and social care, or cyber security and coding, thanks to £500,000 from the National Skills Fund.

Meanwhile, job seekers of all ages will benefit from work placements thanks to £500k funding from the Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP) – creating important opportunities for people who are unemployed, whilst supporting employers to create a skilled workforce, recover and grow following the pandemic.

Commenting on the funding, Cheryl Shepherd Head of Employability at Acacia Training said: “Economic recovery and ongoing resilience is dependent on businesses having access to a sufficient supply of appropriately trained employees, to meet both current and future needs.

“By working collaboratively with employers and learners, we can ensure that the right opportunities are created and filled by those with the appropriate skills and experience. Importantly, these are valuable and skilled jobs in sectors that meaningfully contribute to continued economic recovery and growth.”

Acacia Training also continues to actively work with nationwide employers and the Job Centre Plus to deliver the Government’s flagship Kickstart programme, providing 16-24 year olds with high-quality work placements. The company has worked with employers and Job Centre Plus to create over 1500 live vacancies across a range of sectors that include administration, marketing and sales, construction, childcare and early years, health and social care, construction, schools and education, and hospitality.

Cheryl concludes: “The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has been particularly pronounced amongst young people and levels of unemployment amongst the 16-24 cohort rose at a quicker pace during the midst of the pandemic than beforehand.

“It is important to us that we improve peoples’ lives through delivery of quality education and empower them to be able to make choices. We are here to ensure opportunities for career progression and these employability schemes are key to our work to support employers, stimulate economic recovery and provide lots of job opportunities for people of all ages.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Cath Shuttlewood .