A new, £1.7million initiative – led by OxLEP – has today (16 July) been launched and is set to make a major impact on employment opportunities across the county.
The Skills Bootcamps programme, part of the Department for Education’s ‘Skills for Life’ activity, is being led in Oxfordshire by OxLEP Skills and will be delivered between this summer, through to March 2025.
It is 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.
The programme will in-particular 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.
Working with a range of top-class delivery partners, Skills Bootcamps will provide 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.
This new initiative follows other recent successes for OxLEP in supporting the county’s businesses and – in turn – its residents, seeking new job opportunities.
One of OxLEP Skills’ current initiatives – the £1.7million Social Contract programme, funded by the Government’s Contain Outbreak Management Fund, via Oxfordshire County Council – has seen the organisation firmly-support small to medium-sized businesses in Oxfordshire to create new apprenticeship placements, thanks to securing unused apprenticeship levy spend from some of the county’s larger businesses, matching those pledges to interested and applicable smaller organisations.
The initiative has supported those smaller businesses’ own respective growth plans, whilst also directly helping to develop new apprenticeship openings across several key and critical sectors in the county – including health and social care.
In May, OxLEP announced that it had so far managed to secure £3.5million-worth of apprenticeship levy pledges from Oxfordshire-based large businesses, leading to around 200 new apprenticeships being created.
Now, its newly-launched programme – the Skills Bootcamps – will see those signing-up being able to develop new skills in areas such as life sciences, health and green construction.
More widely, Skills Bootcamps is set to play a key role across many Oxfordshire businesses and sectors, helping them to address specific skills gaps – with critical gaps previously identified via the county’s Local Skills Improvement Plan.
Nigel Tipple – Chief Executive of OxLEP – said: “We are delighted to be launching this new programme, building on 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.
“Our Skills Bootcamps programme 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 a number of delivery partners too, each set to provide top learning opportunities for the programme’s participants.
“We are extremely excited to be leading this programme and look forward to seeing the positive effect 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 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 opportunities could arise within your business.”
A total of three courses are currently on offer via the Skills Bootcamps programme, with each course set to begin in the coming weeks – more courses and associated delivery partners are set to be announced later this summer.
Listed below is the current Skills Bootcamps programme of activity, as well as the providers leading on their respective delivery.
Health and life sciences-focused Skills Bootcamps:
- CSR Scientific Training (laboratory assistant or laboratory technician skills)
- Skills4Pharmacy (pharmacy laboratory technician skills)
Green Construction-focused Skills Bootcamps:
- Reed in Partnership (heat pump skills)
Interested participants are being encouraged to apply to a Skills Bootcamps course as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
