Businesses and people across the West Midlands are set to receive a huge boost today (Wednesday) with the announcement of a £49 million skills deal for the region.

Education Secretary Damian Hinds was visiting Dudley College to make the announcement, with the deal worth up to £69 million in total.

The money will be put towards digital and technical training, improving job opportunities and supporting more young people and adults into work, while there will also be opportunities for upskilling and retraining.

Up to £49million of the investment will come from the Department for Education, while the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) will invest £20million as part of their Skills Plan.

Education Secretary Damian Hinds.

The new deal will include:

  • Hundreds of new apprenticeships at small and medium sized businesses in priority areas such as construction, automotive and digital sectors.
  • Investment in local colleges, improving equipment and facilities to teach the skills the region needs.
  • Up to £5 million in funding to work with employers to develop a National Retraining Scheme (NRS) pilot to drive adult learning and retraining.
  • £1 million toward a new West Midlands career hub, to improve careers advice for young people.
  • A new online portal for businesses to share work experience opportunities with schools.

The skills shortage is one of the biggest challenges facing the West Midlands today, with employers constantly citing it as their top concern when recruiting.

And, despite the region's recent economic boom, youth unemployment has remained remarkably stubborn, something which the skills deal will also seek to target.

“Every time I speak to businesses in West Midlands, the number one issue that keeps getting fed back to me as the barrier for growth is skills," said Mayor Andy Street.

"We know best the challenges facing West Midlands businesses and, among the colleges and educational institutions, we know how to tackle them.

“This deal means more apprenticeships and more money for adult education, career advice and technical education which is brilliant news for both businesses and young people.

"But perhaps more importantly, this new way of working with Government means we have new powers and resource to help deliver the right outcomes for the West Midlands and for Government.”

Speaking ahead of today's announcement, Education Secretary Damian Hinds said that the new deal would help to boost the productivity of what he referred to as the country's 'engine'.

“The West Midlands is the engine of our thriving economy, but we want to make sure even more local people have the skills they need to get on in life, while also boosting the region’s productivity and technical expertise," he said.

“This new skills deal will provide the right investment so that both young people and adults have the chance to learn, upskill, retrain and take advantage of the range of exciting jobs in areas such as construction, cyber security and digital technology.

“By supporting apprenticeships in small and medium sized businesses, more people will be able to earn and learn and the focus on digital and technical skills, which are both in high demand, will help people to get the skills they need to get the jobs of tomorrow.”