Extra places for £5.6m Lancs training scheme

A £5.6m programme which offers Lancashire companies access to free workforce training has announced more than a thousand extra training opportunities.

Lancashire Skills Support for the Workforce (LSS) has been so popular that it has been awarded the extra places from the Skills Funding Agency (SFA).

Firms are being urged to act quickly to secure free skills support training, provided by colleges and leading training providers in the county.

Around 4,300 people working in Lancashire businesses have already started or completed training under LSS, far more than the initial 3,817 places offered when the programme launched in September 2014.

When funding for the programme runs out at the end of July, it will have supported 5,125 learners in areas including team leadership, management, accounting, marketing, sales, health and social care, customer service, engineering, manufacturing, catering and hospitality.

The LSS programme has been brought together by Lancashire County Council and the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP) with funding from the European Social Fund (ESF).

Amanda Melton, chair of the Lancashire Skills Board - part of the LEP, said: “Lancashire Skills Support has already been an enormous success, equipping the county’s businesses with the skills they need to grow. Demand remains exceptionally high for the programme and so it’s great to have been able to secure these extra places. "However, these places are going to be filled quickly, so I would urge interested businesses to see if they are eligible at the earliest opportunity.”