Small and medium enterprises across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are being urged to take advantage of £4.6m of free skills training for their workforce before the deadline to make use of the funds expires in July 2018. 

The free training is available as part of a new programme named Skills Support for the Workforce (SSW), which Serco’s Employment, Skills and Enterprise business has been selected to manage across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly by the Skills Funding Agency.  

The programme, which is co-funded by the European Social Fund and the Skills Funding Agency, involves Serco working in partnership with the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership to support growth across all sectors of the economy.

The training takes place at employees’ workplaces and businesses can select full qualifications or mix and match individual units that are directly relevant to their work.

Free training includes basic skills training in literacy and numeracy, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), and general employment skills such as communication and team working, IT, leadership and vocation specific qualifications in sectors such as marine, tourism and digital.

Businesses can contact Serco on [email protected] for more details and to find out if they are eligible.