A £30m programme to provide thousands of people access to skills opportunities across South West Wales has been approved by the UK Government and Welsh Government.
The Swansea Bay City Deal Skills and Talent programme will help 14,000 people upskill and create at least 3,000 new apprenticeships.
It will focus on industries with high demand for workers, and align to areas of growth such as the digital, construction, energy, health and wellbeing and smart manufacturing sectors.
The Regional Learning and Skills Partnership will identify skill gaps in relation to local industry needs, and education and training solutions will put in place to meet these demands.
Cllr Emlyn Dole, leader of Carmarthenshire County Council, said: 'The Skills and Talent programme will underpin the other eight projects and programmes across the whole City Deal portfolio by mapping the skills gaps and analysing the training needs for the City Deal projects. Identifying the skills gaps across the five main themes - construction, digital, energy, health and wellbeing and smart manufacturing – will help us to shape and deliver the skills needed for the future.
'Working collaboratively with stakeholders and partners we will deliver the training and upskilling required, particularly with schools across the region to highlight opportunities and develop clear pathways for our young people so that they can make the right choices for their future. We will also establish Centres of Excellence that will create a legacy for the programme and establish the region as the best place to learn specific sector skills.'
