York and North Yorkshire Mayor’s Skills Innovation Fund programmes announced

More than 1,000 learners and tutors are set to benefit from new programmes designed to tackle skills challenges in York and North Yorkshire.

Three region-wide schemes will receive investment from the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire's Skills Innovation Fund.

David Skaith, Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, said: “Opportunity should be within everyone's reach. My focus is on making that a reality - by helping people develop the skills they need and supporting them into good jobs. These three programmes are a vital step forward. Not only do they address skills needs for the tech jobs of the future, but they also ensure that opportunity will reach people from all walks of life,  by breaking down barriers to learning and supporting people on their next steps towards employment. I want people across our region to have the best training possible, and for our businesses to find the right people, with the right skills, right here in York and North Yorkshire.  This is what my Skills Innovation Fund is all about.”

The Skills Innovation Fund is a £2.4 million grant fund to support skills development in the York and North Yorkshire region over two years, ending in March 2027. Following a call for projects earlier this year, 40 applications were received by York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority.

Three successful applications receiving a share of funding are:

• A partnership of all the further education colleges delivering in York and North Yorkshire, including Askham Bryan College, Craven College, Harrogate College, Selby College, Darlington College, Scarborough TEC and York College, and the adult learning services in North Yorkshire Council and City of York Council will work together to ensure that people and businesses across the whole area benefit from this funding.
  
  The programme will focus on skills supporting digital and low carbon jobs, introducing new courses for learners, upskilling tutors and investing in new equipment and infrastructure. Work will also help remove barriers to learning, particularly for rural communities and vulnerable groups. 

They are aiming to support 420 learners and 150 tutors, delivering 15 courses, and make improvements to seven teaching facilities.

• Not-for-profit organisation Better Connect, leading a programme delivered by more than 30 organisations. Their work will focus on learners who are disengaged from education. Their approach weaves numeracy, literacy, digital and independent living skills into creative activities that aim to inspire lifelong learning.
  
  The programme aims to develop and deliver 50 courses, training 120 disengaged learners in priority sectors.  
  
  

• University of York and York Creatives. A programme called Extending XR which seeks to provide creative technology skills training across the region for learners and tutors and develop a forum to strengthen local ties in the region's creative sector.
  
  The programme aims to support 338 learners and 20 tutors, delivering at least 20 courses.
  
  

Ken Merry, Principal and Chief Executive of York College & University Centre, said: “As a consortium of colleges and adult learning providers, we are delighted to be trusted by the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority to support them with their Skills Innovation Fund priorities. The project brings together all the colleges who deliver across the York and North Yorkshire region to deliver against some of the key region-wide priorities. Working with the Adult Learning services in North Yorkshire and the City of York, we have the ambition of positively impacting on the employment prospects of the communities we serve.

“Our collaboration will provide people with the opportunity to develop the knowledge and skills they need for their next steps into work or further learning. Utilising modern and innovative methods of delivery, including the use of VR technology that will support students to access environments that would otherwise be too difficult, such as seeing the inside of a human body, or standing on top of a wind turbine.”

Natasha Babar-Evans, Chief Executive Officer, Better Connect, said: “Better Connect are delighted to have been successful in securing funding through the Skills Innovation Fund to lead a partnership programme called Step Up (Skills to Empower People & Unlock Potential). The Step Up programme will bring together 32 delivery organisations from across York and North Yorkshire in collaboration with Adult Learning Support Services to help engage people who are furthest away from education.  

“There are many people who are disconnected from traditional ways of learning and disengaged with education. The voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations who are helping to deliver the Step Up programme are experts in engaging people in the community in a way that works for them. The programme will help people build confidence and improve essential digital, literacy, numeracy and independent living skills in a unique way by weaving it into creative activities, community roadshows and bitesize flexible courses that inspire lifelong learning.  

 “This programme will also compliment services offered through Adult Learning Support Services and through other programmes such as RISE2Thrive and Trailblazer by creating the first Step Up to help people engage with work and formal education. We are excited to get started on this programme.”

Commenting on the University of York and York Creatives application, Damian Murphy, Director of XR Stories at the University of York said: “Extending XR builds on the existing work of XR Stories to offer innovative training in immersive technologies, AI, games and virtual production to develop the skills or our region's creative industries and help them to grow in their scale and ambition. We will work in key locations across North Yorkshire to develop new learning activities and opportunities and provide access to our large-scale creative technologies facilities. Working with York Creatives as our partners we will convene Creative North Yorkshire across York and North Yorkshire to provide a ‘one-stop-shop' for creative practitioners seeking skills development, and a foundation for future collaborative work in the sector."

Sarah Williams, Managing Director, York Creatives, said: "York Creatives is looking forward to supporting vital new digital skills provision for York and North Yorkshire. By leading on engaging with creative networks across the region and establishing a web resource 'one-stop-shop' for creative professionals seeking new digital skills, we are excited about bringing creatives further into the ecosystem of creative digital innovation."