Kirstie Donnelly
City & Guilds Training has secured further funding from the Department for Education to deliver a fourth wave of skills bootcamps over the next two years across England.
This next wave of training will be targeted at the sectors currently being held back by skills shortages including construction. City & Guilds will train around 7,000 learners in essential areas, including green skills.
The £26m investment has been made as part of the government’s Lifetime Skills Guarantee and Plan for Jobs to help fill skills gaps and improve job outcomes for learners.
The bootcamps offer free and flexible courses lasting up to 16 weeks. Aimed at adults aged 19 years-old or above, they provide learners with an opportunity to build up sector-specific skills and offer a job interview with an employer on completion.
Kirstie Donnelly MBE, CEO at City & Guilds, said:
This is great news for learners and for industry.
City & Guilds Skills Bootcamps are already changing lives for the better, by providing access to training and skills needed by industry. They provide learners with access to vital training, giving them that all important kickstart in a skilled sector that they can build a career in.
City & Guilds learner, Calum, currently employed as Maintenance Lead at Clean Energy Nationwide, commenting on his experience of Skills Bootcamps, said:
We insulate houses, put solar panels on the roof and fit heat pumps. My job, once I’m fully qualified, will include ventilation, plumbing and electrical maintenance. I’m hoping to become an electrician, so that I can sign off all my own work for the company.
My course tutor’s been amazing – really helpful. Likewise, my fellow course mates, if I get stuck on something and they know the answer, they’re willing to step in and help me understand it, from their perspective. The training centre also seems like a great place to learn.
