Our plans for skills and employment

Through the Skills and Employment Strategy, Buckinghamshire is committing to ensuring that the right programme is available for you, at the right time.

This could be through:

• one-to-one support to develop your skills and confidence to get ready for work
• a maths course so you can help your children with their homework
• a sector-specific Skills Bootcamp to progress your career or start a new career entirely

The Skills Strategy Board has commissioned the Skills and Employment Strategy to deliver these learning opportunities, but we cannot do so alone.

We want to work in partnership with you, as well as our learning providers and employers, to make sure that everyone continues to thrive.

We are committed to making sure that Buckinghamshire is the best place to do business. To deliver on this commitment, we know that employers and businesses need the staff with the right skills to prosper and grow.

Employers have told us that it is often hard to find the right course, at the right level, which is affordable and delivers the right quality so that employees are able to get the job done.

The Skills and Employment Strategy aims to expand work-based learning such as:

• Skills Bootcamps
• T Levels
• apprenticeships
• programmes that offer support for individuals to overcome barriers

By committing to a range of programmes that deliver the right sector and personal skills, Buckinghamshire will have access to the best candidates for your workplace.

This strategy commits to working in partnership with you to deliver the skills that your business needs to thrive, to retain staff and stay at the forefront of innovation.

Buckinghamshire has excellent learning facilities, including our schools, college, two universities, and our specialist independent training providers. There is also great collaboration in place between some sectors and educators, but we must go further.

Through consultation, we have heard how finding work experience is a problem for educators, while employers and businesses have voiced their concerns that people are leaving education not ‘work ready’. Evidence also suggests that employers are less likely to invest in employees continued professional development in Buckinghamshire, compared to other parts of England.

We also must face the facts that 26,930 Buckinghamshire residents aged between 18 to 64 years old had no qualifications in the 2021 census. Also, 13,100 economically inactive individuals in Buckinghamshire want to work but require support to overcome barriers, such as long-term ill-health or caring responsibilities.

We want to enable every learner to secure the skills, knowledge, and confidence to achieve their ambitions and potential.

This will be achieved through bringing learning provision and employers closer together to achieve learning programmes such as:

• skills bootcamps
• T Levels
• apprenticeships
• programmes supporting individuals to get ready for employment, upskill or change careers

These programmes are just the start and will be delivered in partnership to improve performance, share best practice and look ahead to future opportunities.

Buckinghamshire, as one of the home counties, is often perceived as an affluent area, but it also faces challenges like any other place. The Covid-19 pandemic has slowed down its economic recovery and created a gap between the qualifications that its residents have and the skills that its employers want. A Skills and Employment Strategy is needed to provide a clear direction for enhancing skills and productivity.

We are seeking opportunities to work in partnership with others and obtain funding to support our vision.

Our vision will be delivered through the interventions summarised in the action plan. We are already introducing Skills Bootcamps led by the council in January 2024. Future programmes will be delivered in partnership to improve performance, share best practice and actively look ahead to future opportunities.