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.
People, employment and skills
What is our role?
- To help people acquire the skills that the economy needs.
- To help more people contribute to the economy of the
region.
We want the people of the South West to gain the skills that
they need to be employable and personally fulfilled.
Developing the skills of people in the South West is a major
opportunity to stimulate the economy of the region while supporting
business.
We are committed to ensuring that employers have the right
skills to develop their businesses successfully. In particular, by
helping the services and manufacturing industries by focusing on
their need for employees with technical, high level and management
skills. And we understand that the skills required by business need
to be delivered in a flexible way.
We encourage the growth of businesses and the development of the
workforce in disadvantaged and community groups: including women,
young people, older people and black and minority ethnic
groups.
We will continue to fund skills projects that support some of
the region’s most important places and industries. One example is
the Talent
Retention program, which supports the Advanced Engineering and
Creative Industries sectors.
We also fund the work of the South West Regional Employment &
Skills Board (RESB). The RESB brings together partners that
represent:
- business
- learners
- providers of training
- funders of training
This group works to identify and address the skills and employment
priorities in the region.
Related information
Report:
Higher Education Institutions and business: delivering the UK’s
industrial strategy
The report above, written by the People and Skills team, was
commissioned by Lord Mandelson as part of the government’s Going
for Growth agenda and, more specifically, to help flesh out how
universities can advance innovation and drive growth in their
regions.