Training providers are set to tackle acute skills shortages across Norfolk and Suffolk's vital sectors as part of a £1m scheme.
New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has appointed eight specialist companies to run Skills Bootcamps to boost the employability of 240 people in key industries facing recruitment crises.
The LEP has worked with Norfolk and Suffolk County Councils to secure the funding under the government's Lifetime Skills Guarantee.
They will be taught skills in IT, construction, logistics, domestic retrofit or green skills, introductions to arboriculture and farming - and leadership and management up to March 2023.
The eight providers include four from the region - Action Community Enterprises CIC (ACE) which supports young people and unemployed adults in Norfolk, Netmatters, which has offices in Wymondham, Great Yarmouth and Cambridge, Suffolk New College, which has campuses in Ipswich, Leiston and Otley and Turning Factor, which has offices in Norwich and Cambridge.
The others are digital marketing agency Anicca Digital Ltd, edtech start-up CoGrammar Ltd, construction sector software developer House Builder XL Ltd and The Retrofit Academy CIC, which develops new qualifications and training to support the government’s net zero agenda.
The courses will be free to individual learners and open to anyone aged 19-plus with the right to live and work in the UK.
Participants will learn new skills to enter employment or enhance their skills to support career progression. Self-employed people will be helped to build skills so they can win new business.
The short, intensive training courses will vary from around 60 hours to 16 weeks and involve a mix of in-person and online learning depending on the course.
New Anglia LEP skills broker Bev Wallman said the bootcamps were heavily subsidised to encourage take-up. "SMEs will pay just 10% of the cost of training their employees, which is exceptional value for money. Larger companies will pay 30% but that still represents a significant cost saving,” she said.
Graham Plant, Norfolk County Council cabinet member for growing the economy, said: "We are always looking for ways to boost skills in Norfolk, and securing such a large investment is a fantastic step towards this."
Cllr Rachel Hood, Suffolk County Council cabinet member for education, SEND and skills, said the bootcamps would provide a new opportunity for businesses in several areas.
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