South Yorkshire ‘on course for a green and digital future’ following £4.2m training boost

The Department of Education has released £200m in total. Locally, £4.2m will support the work of the Local Skills Improvement Fund (LSIF), driven in South Yorkshire by the Sheffield, Barnsley and Rotherham and Doncaster Chambers of Commerce, which represent business networks.

The cash will be used to adapt local skills provision to transform the economy and drive a green and digital future. The bid was led by Barnsley College and involved The Sheffield College, RNN Group, DN Colleges Group, Northern College, Sheffield Hallam University, Communication Specialist College and The University of Sheffield.

It has been welcomed by Sheffield City Council’s Labour Party lead for economic development and skills, Coun Minesh Parekh.

He said: “Our region must act on the climate crisis and capture the opportunities of the digital revolution, not duck the key challenges. This successful bid will help our region meet our skills gaps and train up a workforce that can transform our local and regional economies.

“South Yorkshire is on course for a green and digital future.”

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The South Yorkshire Chambers also welcomed the news, which they said would help bring many of the recommendations from the LSIP report to fruition and help colleges and universities to fulfil laudable ambitions.

They said: “Learners will be afforded new opportunities to develop the skills they need to thrive in the modern workplace – particularly embracing digital technology – while businesses will be able to harness the resulting talent to innovate and grow towards a more prosperous future.”

Coun Parekh pointed to Sheffield College’s new sustainable technology course for plumbers and heating engineers. The free air source heat pump training classes are aimed at plumbing and heating engineering businesses in South Yorkshire.

The course, which started in October, is being funded by council-run organisation Opportunity Sheffield, which also funded technical equipment worth a total of £20,000.

He said: “The future is a stronger economy, with high-skilled green jobs. Our commitment to skills and training opportunities will help us build a fairer, greener local economy.”