City Region moves ahead to close skills gap and reduce jobless total
The City Region Board meeting on 25th March has signed off its Multi Area Agreement for Employment and Skills proposition to Government.
The City Region is seeking new powers from Government which will progressively allow it to direct up to £170m per year of national employment and skills funding in support of regional and local priorities. This will build upon the current City Strategy Pathfinder that covers 55 target wards across the City Region.
City Region Board member and Leader of Dudley Council, Councillor David Caunt said:
“The City Strategy Pathfinder has been successful in tackling long term unemployment and raising skills levels. But it only covers 5 wards in Dudley. The MAA will remove this post code lottery and bring the benefits of the City Strategy Pathfinder to the whole City Region.
Fellow Board member and Leader of Solihull Council, Councillor Ken Meeson adds
“Local Government and its partners in the West Midlands have a successful track record of working with Government to tackle long term unemployment and improve skills through our piloting of the City Strategy Pathfinder initiative in 55 of our most disadvantaged wards.
“However there is much more work to do. One of the key ambitions of the City Region’s MAA is to increase the number of employers investing in the re-training and up-skilling of their staff. This is even more important in the current economic climate so that firms are able to respond quickly to opportunities when things begin to pick up”.
The Board meeting on 25th March also confirmed Telford and Wrekin’s continued full membership of the MAA (see news item on Telford and Wrekin later in this edition)
A full copy of the MAA can be accessed in the Key Publications section (Board Papers)