The latest set of partner organisations, delivering a skills programme set to have a major impact on employment opportunities, have been announced by OxLEP.
The £1.2 million Skills Bootcamps programme – part of the Department for Education’s ‘Skills for Life’ activity – is being led in Oxfordshire by OxLEP Skills and is being delivered through to March 2025.
Launched this summer, the programme is all set to give Oxfordshire residents the opportunity to develop a variety of sector-specific skills, helping to fast-track individuals to potential, future interview opportunities and ultimately, paid work.
Skills Bootcamps will particularly boost opportunities for jobseekers, those re-entering work after a career gap, or retirees returning to employment, likely triggered by the cost-of-living crisis.
Skills Bootcamps provides free, flexible courses to its participants – running for up to 16 weeks in some instances – available to residents from across Oxfordshire, subject to the programme’s eligibility criteria.
Several new programme partners have now been announced, delivering a number of further bootcamps as part of the activity and complementing three existing courses already in place since July this year.
The new partners and courses being delivered are:
E-bikes course:
- Activate Learning (cycle maintenance)
Green construction and green sustainability courses:
- Abingdon & Witney College (plumbing and heating skills, and sustainability in the workplace)
Hospitality course:
- Kiwi & Yuzu Ltd (hospitality supervision)
These new courses follow the initial batch of Skills Bootcamps opportunities previously announced by OxLEP Skills, focused on health and life sciences and a further green construction-led bootcamp.
Those partners and courses being:
Health and life sciences courses:
- CSR Scientific Training (laboratory assistant or laboratory technician skills)
- Skills4Pharmacy (pharmacy laboratory technician skills)
Green construction course:
- Reed in Partnership (heat pump skills)
More widely, Skills Bootcamps are set to play a key role across many Oxfordshire businesses and sectors, helping them to address specific skills gaps.
Critical gaps have previously been identified via the county’s Local Skills Improvement Plan.
Nigel Tipple – Chief Executive of OxLEP – said: “We are delighted to be announcing our second set of providers for the Skills Bootcamps programme.
“The programme builds upon our solid reputation of supporting Oxfordshire residents to reach their potential whilst also helping our business community to benefit from a well-trained, pipeline of talent.
“Skills Bootcamps will increase the supply of technical qualifications and skills in Oxfordshire, helping to give some of our key industries and our SME community greater resilience during a key economic period.
“We are delighted to be working with even more delivery partners, each set to provide top learning opportunities for the programme’s participants.
“Everyone at OxLEP is extremely excited to be leading this programme and look forward to seeing the positive results Skills Bootcamps will have right across Oxfordshire.
“We believe it will make a significant impact on our county’s workforce and one, very much for the better.”
OxLEP are also keen to ensure the programme continues to meet business need and is asking the county’s business community to play its part, including potentially creating interview opportunities for those successfully completing courses.
Nigel Tipple added: “Ultimately, we want to ensure people are finding their way into employment at the end of their Skills Bootcamps journey – with that in mind, if your business operates in any of the sectors the programme is supporting, we would be delighted to hear from you and understand what career opportunities could arise within your business for our successful individuals.”
Find out more via the OxLEP Skills site, including details on how to apply to a Skills Bootcamps course: oxlepskills.co.uk/skills-bootcamps.
