Mayor unveils £17 million 'life-changing' skills drive

A regeneration body boss has unveiled a £17 million learning support programme.

North East mayor Kim McGuinness says the Skills Bootcamp scheme will help thousands of adults learn new talents.

Covering sectors such as hospitality, digital marketing, cybersecurity, green technologies and rail engineering, the programme's courses can be completed in less than 16 weeks.

Hailing the bootcamp, mayor McGuinness, who leads the North East Combined Authority, said: “Skills and training are at the heart of my ambition to connect people to the jobs we are creating through new investment in industry.

“Bootcamps can really change people’s lives by empowering them to retrain and find a new career in a way which works alongside their already busy lives.

"This is all part of building a proud future for the North East.”

The Skills Bootcamp programme, supported by funding from the Department for Education, is free for individuals seeking career changes or skills development, with an interview offer with an employer guaranteed on completion of the programme.

Employers looking to upskill staff must contribute ten per cent for SMEs and 30 per cent for larger businesses.

You can find out more about mayor McGuinness' vision for the North East on our sister site, N, here.

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