As we work to strengthen Peterborough’s economy, it’s become apparent that there are some real issues surrounding skills that stand in our way. A lot of businesses are struggling to find employees with the right skills to suit their operations, and often find that current qualifications and training programmes fail to equip people with the appropriate skills to drive their company forward.
However, the launch of the Peterborough Skills Pledge at the Skills Summit on Tuesday 30th November will address these issues by giving businesses the opportunity to voice their needs now and for the future, and help shape the city’s Skills Agenda.
Peterborough’s local economy has a number of skills gaps and we’re aware that local businesses can struggle to find the right people to fill vacancies and equally, those looking for jobs find it hard to find roles that match their needs. There are also issues around progression and the level of basic skills, which makes it hard for businesses to find the right staff. The Skills Summit will allow businesses to discuss what they need from employees in terms of skills, both now and in the future, which will help training providers supply courses to meet these requirements.
By attending this ground-breaking event and committing to the Peterborough Skills Pledge, you, as local businesses, will play a hand in shaping the progression of the city’s workforce.
The Peterborough Skills Pledge is about enhancing our local workforce to support future growth for our businesses and ultimately the city. This is vital because the UK doesn’t deliver skills support particularly well; we provide training for educational purposes rather than for business use and this is a shortfall Opportunity Peterborough hopes to address with the new Skills Agenda.
The Summit is designed to bring together local business and provider communities and begin a conversation that will ensure our workforce has the skills our local businesses need. We believe this approach will have a significant impact on the performance of our economy and help our communities into work.
What’s really exciting about this event is that businesses and post-16 students from across Peterborough will be brought together to discuss young people’s first experiences in the work place in the ‘Big Conversation.’ It will also tackle common barriers in the workplace and how to overcome them, as well as what has both succeeded and failed in the past.
I’m really looking forward to the Summit and launch of the Pledge, and feel confident they will play a significant role in upskilling our city’s future workforce.
The Peterborough Skills Summit will take place on Tuesday 30th November at the Marriot Hotel, Lynch Wood with the seminar running from 9am-12.30pm and the Big Conversation from 1.30-4.30pm. Places must be booked in advance by emailing your details to k.hewitt@cambscci.co.uk If you have any queries please contact Helen Bosett or Kelly Hewitt at the Chamber of Commerce on Tel: 01733 370809.
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