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Skills support funded by Preston City Council UKSPF for you and your business

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Need some extra skills and training support? Take a look at these funded skills support projects for Preston businesses.

The following projects are funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) for Preston businesses.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund provides £2.6 billion of UK Government funding for local investment by March 2025. The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills.

Preston City Council received an allocation of £5.2m UKSPF funding to invest in a range of projects that will help benefit both local people and the city's businesses.

Digital Skills for Employment Pick and Mix

The digital 'Pick and Mix' training courses from UK Skills Academy offer a comprehensive and interactive learning experience designed to equip participants with those essential digital skills for today's rapidly evolving landscape.

Through a blend of self-learning and engaging modules, hands-on exercises with a tutor, and quizzes, learners can delve into topics ranging from programming fundamentals to data analytics and cyber security principles.

With the flexibility to learn at your own pace and access course materials from any device, you will gain valuable insights and practical knowledge to excel in various industries.

Who is it for?

Whether someone is looking to start their digital skills journey or advance into Level 3 - we have a flexible course to meet your needs. You can sharpen your coding abilities, improve your digital marketing strategies, or simply gain a better understanding of emerging technologies, our courses offer comprehensive instruction and hands-on practice to equip participants with the knowledge and skills needed to thrive in today's digital-driven world.

To be eligible for this free support, you must be:

  • Employed or Self-employed
  • Aged 16+
  • Live and work in Preston, paying Council Tax to Preston City Council

What courses are available?

To find out what courses are available visit UK Skills Academy - Digital Skills for employment Pick and Mix.

How to apply

If you're interested in booking onto one of the available course visit forms - digital skills training for employment Preston City.

Preston College - Qualifications and Lunch and Learn Webinars

Preston College offers a range of fully funded free qualifications and Lunch and Learn webinars in the following areas:

  • team leading
  • leadership and management
  • managing change
  • project management
  • performance management and customer service

Who is it for?

To be eligible for this free support, you must be:

  • aged: 16+
  • residency eligibility:
    • Employed Preston City Council residents working for an SME in Preston
    • Employed Preston City Council residents working for a national/international company in Preston
    • Employed Preston City Council residents working for any company outside Preston
    • People in employment are people aged 16 and over, who do one hour or more of paid work per week or are temporarily away from work (e.g. because they are temporarily sick or on holiday)

This includes:

  • Employees (permanent and temporary workers, the latter including those on fixed period contracts, agency temping, apprentices etc;)
  • Self-employed persons
  • Persons on maternity or paternity leave

Please note: Preston residents, Preston SMEs, Preston Employers means located within the Preston City Council boundaries.

What qualifications and webinars are available?

To find out what qualifications and Lunch and Learn webinars are available and how to register visit Preston College - training to upskill people in employment (UKSPF).

For wider information visit Preston College - upskill your workforce.

Green Skills courses

Preston College also offers local support to fill your skills gaps not funded by other means and also offers Green Skills courses.

The Green Skills Project will provide essential training in sectors that are key to the net-zero transition, such as low carbon construction, transport electrification and sustainable energy. It will also provide custom made courses from beginner to practitioner on areas that will help organisations shift to low carbon practices, such as digital skills for carbon monitoring.

The Local Skills Project aims to supplement the existing Adult Education Budget to enable a greater range of courses to be offered and to help those who are not eligible for full-fee support, to access free skills training. It will deliver training and qualifications that respond to skills and sector shortages in Preston, such as health and social care, engineering, service industries and construction. The overall aim is to increase the skill levels of Preston's workforce, reduce unemployment and promote economic growth.

What courses are available?

To find out what courses are available and how to apply visit Preston College - upskill your staff with green skills.

Wider recruitment and training support

For wider recruitment and training support opportunities see business recruitment and training support.