Empowering Chester businesses

What are the current and future Chester workforce needs? A new project led by the Chamber of Commerce on behalf of Cheshire West and Chester Council is asking this question through a short questionnaire.

Councillor Richard Beacham, Leaders Champion for Chester One City Plan said:

“This project is part of our local fair economy borough plan, to understand what the Chester workforce needs are and to connect businesses directly with local education and training providers. We are keen to encourage local businesses to help develop future training course content to ensure that they represent the needs of local businesses.

“We are asking businesses to complete a short questionnaire and get involved in shaping Chester’s future talent pool. The questions include the type of skills or training being looked for including digital skills, AI, numeracy, sales and marketing, planning, health and safety.

“Are businesses finding it difficult to recruit? Are there problems with skills, qualifications, or work experience? Are businesses looking for new employees, apprentices, graduates, school, or college leavers? Do local businesses need to provide staff training?” 

This Chester One City Plan skills project is funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, Supporting Local Business and aims to foster collaboration between Chester-based businesses and local education providers. 

The project will signpost employers to local support to ensure their workforce possesses the skills necessary for their ongoing growth. This project seeks to understand the specific skills needs of businesses in Chester and develop a comprehensive action plan to address these needs. 

If a business Is looking to upskill or retrain their existing workforce or is interested in recruiting apprentices but not sure how, there is support available. There may be frustration trying to recruit candidates that don’t have the right skills or aren’t work ready. 

Businesses taking part in the Empowering Chester businesses project will benefit from: 

• Help to find the right talent for their business by building a robust pipeline of skilled, job-ready candidates
• Ways to develop the skills of an existing team to succeed and grow business
• Opportunities to shape local training programs to meet the exact business needs 

To take part, visit:  

https://forms.office.com/e/sNnyNFuSwQ

Empowering Chester businesses is part of the Council’s commitment to implementing skills escalators which bring together business and education providers to develop skills and career pathways into jobs in key sectors. This is one of the 12 action points identified as part of Cheshire West and Chester Council’s vision for an Inclusive Economy. The Inclusive Economy aims to make Cheshire West and Chester a greener, fairer and stronger place to live, work and play.

You can find out more about the Inclusive Economy here: 

http://www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/business/inclusive-economy 

More information on skills escalators, career pathways, and which training providers are providing courses, can be found here: 

www.livewell.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/Information/Sector_Skills_Escalator_and_Overview?categoryId=5402

Empowering Chester Businesses is being delivered by the Workforce Capability Team hosted at South Cheshire Chamber of Commerce & Industry, working in partnership with West Cheshire & North Wales Chamber of Commerce. 

The UK Shared Prosperity 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.

For more information, visit: 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus

Chester’s One City Plan sets out a new vision for how the public, private and community sector can work together to make Chester a fairer, stronger, and greener city by 2045.