Businesses in Liverpool are being invited to apply for cash in a £32m funding pot, writes Barry Turnbull. The Skills for Growth Bank will award grants to firms who want to recruit staff, train them and boost productivity. It is hoped it could lead to thousands of new jobs and apprenticeships. Leading business figures and politician’s have negotiated the funding from central government. The idea is that businesses will use the grants to supplement their own training ideas as a way of moving their enterprise forward. The bid was spearheaded by Liverpool Local Enterprise Partnership deputy chairman Asif Hamed who said: “I meet employers all the time who say that one of the big things holding back their growth potential is being able to get the right set of skills into their businesses. So we have created the Skills for Growth Bank so that they can take charge of public skills funding and ensure that young people leaving school, people looking for work and those already in their business can have world-class skills training that helps their business grow.” Businesses as well as those wishing to supply training services through the Skills for Growth Bank can register their interest online at http://www.skillsforgrowthbank.org.uk/
