Final call for Northumberland businesses to outline their skills needs

Employers are asked to respond to the survey by Monday, July 19.

The local authority is running an online survey of businesses, which will close at midnight on Monday, July 19.

The Employer Skills Survey has been designed to help the council and partner agencies determine the right training, development and skills programmes to put in place to help businesses in the county to grow and prosper, and the economy to recover.

It asks about vocational, as well as more ‘soft skills’ like communication and leadership, and also explores what types of training businesses have already accessed – and any barriers to gaining suitable training.

The council wants this survey to start an on-going dialogue about skills with Northumberland employers to help them to work together to meet their needs and to get more Northumberland residents into good quality roles within local businesses.

Cllr Wojciech Ploszaj, cabinet member for business at Northumberland County Council said: “As we move towards economic recovery in our county following Covid-19, we are very keen to support businesses in meeting skills gaps that they may have.

“We want to hear from as many businesses as possible so that we can understand their recruitment skills needs and therefore how the council and partner agencies can best support them.”

The council works with partners and funding agencies to deliver a range of learning and skills support programmes, and the outcomes of this survey will help to develop and tailor these directly to current and future business needs.

Employers are asked go to nland.uk/skills to complete the survey.