All RDAs across England are closing by March 2012
(see transition and closure section).
With our resources reducing steadily, this page has not been recently updated and the information below may not be current.
If in doubt, please contact us directly.
West at Work
West at Work is a business led
partnership that coordinates employment and skills activity across
a variety of bodies within the West of England.
Working together, the partnership ensures that tailored and
coordinated employment and training support is specifically
developed to meet local needs and respond to changes in the
economy. This includes help and information for businesses,
training and advice for individuals, and work with investors.
The South West RDA became involved at the outset of the project
through the need to develop a model of support for employers and
developers to ensure that local people were able to gain the
training and skills necessary to take up jobs generated through new
investment.
West at Work activity is focused on maximising the employment
opportunities at key development sites across sub-region. Following
on from work at Cabot Circus in Bristol, the project is now
focusing on other key RDA investment sites including: SouthGate
Bath; Spark; Locking Parklands; South Bristol and Bath Western
Riverside.
The partnership also actively engages with employers
concentrating on the priority sectors that support the employment
needs of the key sites. Priority sectors are currently: Retail,
Public Sector, Hospitality and Tourism.
The West at Work partner organisations are:
- the South West RDA
- Learning and Skills Council (LSC)
- Jobcentre Plus
- Business Link
- Connexions
- Nextstep
- Bath and North East Somerset Council
- Bristol City Council
- North Somerset Council
- South Gloucestershire Council
- ACAS
- South West TUC
- City of Bristol College (representing all local training
providers)
- UWE Bristol
- Government Office South West
- and the West of England Partnership.
The project is steered by the Skills and Competitiveness Board,
which is made up of public and private sector representatives from
across the area. The Board is currently chaired by Stephen Harrison
from PricewaterhouseCoopers and is developing the strategic
priorities for the employment and skills agenda for the West of
England sub-region. This Board is also heavily engaged in the
development of a Multi Area Agreement for the West of England.
The project has core funding from the RDA and LSC (each have put
in more than £1 million). Significant amounts of private sector
funding and additional money through ESF, LID and Section 106 help
to deliver a joined up programme of activity and support.