Skills for Business
Do you employ less than 249 employees? If the answer is yes, the Oxfordshire Skills for Business (S4B) team is here to help.
The Skills for Business programme is part funded through the European Social Fund (ESF). It provides practical support for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) with up to 249 employees to identify and evaluate their skills and learning needs, including upskilling current staff. The programme provides the equivalent of up to £1850 free skills consultancy. This can help you to identify and evaluate your skills and learning needs, including upskilling current staff for your business.
Our expertise and knowledge includes:
Apprenticeships (and the Apprenticeship Levy)
Inclusive employment
Recruitment
Work placements
Engaging with schools and colleges
Signposting for training to meet your skills needs
Kickstart placement scheme (Department for Work and Pensions)
How we can work with you:
Provide a practical Skills Needs Assessment (SNA) to identify an SME’s learning and development gaps
Produce a Training and Development Plan that supports a company’s growth, including planning for a diverse and inclusive workforce
Analyse skills needs and provide information on suitable training provision in Oxfordshire
Provide template policies and guidance on topics such as equalities and sustainability
Help employers to engage with schools and colleges to develop their talent pipeline
Provide a series of training and skills workshops where there is a collective requirement among SMEs - see the OxLEP events page for our scheduled events
Update businesses with the latest labour market intelligence to help them plan for the future
Get in touch
Complete this form to express an interest in Skills for Business
Email the Skills for Business team
About Oxfordshire Skills for Business
The S4B programme promotes equality and diversity in the workplace and is actively encouraging the uptake of the programme as an opportunity to increase diversity in businesses. We will run workshops and events that are inclusive of age, gender, disability and ethnicity to raise awareness and encourage businesses to take positive action. Engagement events will be run to provide an opportunity for businesses to network and learn from each other.
Skills for Business is a 28-month programme, part-funded by the European Social Fund (ESF), which runs until 31 July 2021. OxLEP have match funded the programme to a total of £728,432.
State Aid is given under the de minimus exemption.
The process is as follows:
- Complete an engagement form to express an interest in the ESF S4B programme
- Once you are engaged with the programme, we can provide up to 12 hours of free support relating to skills and staff development for your business
As part of the 12 hours of free support we will:
- Confirm your eligibility and contact you to arrange an SNA meeting as part of the 12 hours of free support
- Visit you in your workplace or conduct a virtual meeting to carry out an SNA to assess your current skills, training and development requirements
- Write up a professional S4B report with a Training and Development Plan containing advice and suggestions, which we will present to you within 2 months
- If you are not eligible for the S4B programme, we will refer you to other members of the OxLEP Skills team for support where appropriate
