Workers at small businesses in Birmingham, Solihull and the Black Country are being offered the opportunity to develop high-level skills, including those people whose jobs are at risk of redundancy. The Workforce Skills training project is offering NVQ Level 4 courses to emphasise the value of having a trained and skilled workforce, particularly in such economic climates.

Funded by the West Midlands Councils' and Skills Funding Agency's regional European Social Fund (ESF) programme, the work-based training initiative, run as part of the Workforce Skills programme, is offering training to workers and small and medium-sized companies. The training has been tailored to accommodate employers who face making redundancies by ensuring that the affected staff are given equal opportunity to access the programme in preparation for redundancy as a way of providing relevant qualifications to enable staff to secure employment elsewhere.

The support and training is provided while the workers are still employed and aims to equip individuals with certificates and qualifications that match their role and position in the workplace. The training provided includes courses in management, business & administration as well as health and social care at NVQ Level 4.

Cllr Phil Atkins, Chairman of the West Midlands Councils, said:

"Redundancy is a real threat in many Midlands workplaces, not least among the many smaller and medium-sized companies in the area. This initiative aims to provide support to people whose jobs are at risk, while they are still employed. In doing so we hope to help them to bridge the gap to a new job and a new future."

Delivered by local training provider, Future Training 2000, the initiative is aiming to provide support and training to about 250 local employees in small and medium-sized companies in Birmingham, Solihull and the Black Country.

Riaz Khan, Birmingham and Black Country team manager at Pohwer Icas, an advocacy support service, says: "The training has proved invaluable to our team, and has really increased the confidence of many of the employees. Knowing that you have the skills for your job is empowering, but to be awarded a qualification that proves this is a huge boost for individuals and can help to impress future employers too."