Employment and Skills Board

The Torbay and South Devon Employment & Skills Board exists to raise the skills, aspirations and productivity of the Torbay and South Devon workforce to support the growth of a vibrant and successful local economy.

By effectively representing the needs of employers and employees, key strategic agencies and the community, the aim is to improve the co-ordination of funding, planning and commissioning and maximise the impact of employment and skills investment to the benefit of everyone that lives, works and does business in the region.

The ESB will seek to prioritise the development of particular skills amongst the workforce, namely:

• To raise the level of leadership and management, customer care and enterprise skills
• To increase the number of apprenticeships in the workforce and the number of new apprenticeship places
• Raising levels of basic literacy and numeracy skills

The ESB will work to help employers remain competitive by providing a focus for employers and public sector partners to work together to:

• Provide a strategic skills forum for interested partners to come together and set skills priorities for the area
• Articulate and clarify the specific skills needs and training requirements of employers
• Promote and advocate the benefits of investing in skills
• Provide a forum for partners to work together to deliver skills solutions that meet the needs of employers
• Contribute to the wider skills agenda and programmes and strategies to reduce rising unemployment
  

The ESB will play a role in responding to the slowdown and help employers remain competitive, by:

• Encouraging partners to offer skills programmes that are relevant and are delivered at a time, and cost to encourage employers to use them
• Encouraging partners to help employers sharpen their business skills, to help them prepare for the upturn
• Working with partners to help young people and the unemployed develop the skills sought by employer

For more details, click here