Stock image showing people discussing work in an office while looking at computer screens just out of shot

Retaining and Upskilling Your Workforce

It is forecast that by 2030, five million workers could become acutely under-skilled in basic digital skills

Local employers are reporting widespread skill shortages in sectors such as digital, manufacturing, engineering, construction and health care.

Around two-thirds of our employers are experiencing significant gaps in the transferable skills of their staff including communication and problem solving as well as leadership and management skills.

All these skills shortages can negatively impact on business performance and growth. However, over a third of local employers also acknowledge that they under-invest in training. Across York & North Yorkshire we have projects that can support your business to assess your training needs and get support to invest in your workforce and assist with retaining valuable employees.

Why should you invest in your workforce?

Strong leadership and management is vital in generating good workplaces that make staff feel supported and valued.
Training leaders and managers can result in improved communication, goal setting, teamwork and collaboration as well as happier and more productive teams and customers.
You can save money by increasing the abilities of your current employees, instead of spending time and budget on employing new workers.
It helps your business stay more competitive by covering all skills needs.

What are you interested in?

Stock image of hands held up in front of computer screen
Image of three men sat around a table discussing work
A woman is talking to, or possible interviewing, a man across a desk. He has his back to us, we can see her laughing.

Workforce skills.

A variety of learning and development opportunities for all aspects of your workforce needs; whether looking at your business processes around HR and strategic planning, thinking about moving into international markets, or developing your employees and colleagues with their transferrable, digital or sales skills.

For more information, click here.

National programmes.

There are a selection of nationwide programmes that offer alternative pathways to upskill and reskill your teams. Businesses can receive grants to take on employees under certain schemes, such as Apprenticeships, Bootcamps, Traineeships and T Levels.

For more information, click here.

Leadership and management.

Transform your business with leadership training that focuses on inclusivity. Create positive workplace cultures with shared values that offer opportunities for employees to grow. Practical training on HR processes can help embed systems and processes that support your team and increase their capacity and productivity. Bespoke business consultancy can provide a broad range of solutions to your skills and training challenges.

Click here for more information on our full and part funded projects.

Want to know more?

On the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s (CIPD) website, you can find their People Skills Hub, which includes employer resources for people management, HR, and support for leaders and managers.

If what you need isn’t covered by the categories above, just get in touch and we’ll connect you to the expertise and resources you need.

Articles

Choc Affair Wins Prestigious Made Smarter Yorkshire & Humber Award

The region's manufacturers took centre stage at Insider's 2024 Made in Yorkshire Awards. The prestigious event celebrated Yorkshire and Humber's world-class companies and their impact. One of the big winners was Choc Affair, the beloved York chocolatier renowned for its ethical and award-winning creations. Choc Affair clinched the top spot in the Made Smarter Yorkshire & Humber Awards.

Events

12th April 202410:00 am - 11:00 amFREE

12 April Webinar: Are you up to Standard? Officially...

Whether you are selling a products or services, you want to make sure you’re up to the standards. In the UK, Trading Standards teams enforce over 80 parliamentary acts and pieces of legislation. So, are you up to their standards? We want you to be. In this friendly session, we’ve invited expert, adviser and coach Russell Bignell to guide us through the challenge of ensuring we are meeting and exceeding the standards expected of UK businesses.

Resources

Webinar Recording : How to pitch your product to a Retail Buyer

How do you know which retailers to approach? How do you approach the Buyers (the ones with the spending power)? And once you’ve found the right retailer and the Buyer, how do you convince them to sell your product? In this 1 hour session we will take you through the best way to find, approach and pitch to a retail buyer. We will prepare you with an overview of the Buying cycle, review the considerations that you will need to be aware of, share questions a Buyer might ask and provide a clear outline for the perfect pitch.