Staff and Skills
What will your business look like three years from now? Do your existing staff have the right mix of skills to help your business flourish? Do you have the right recruitment and workforce development strategy in place?
To develop and grow a business you need to:
• Identify where your business is in terms of developing the skills of its staff
• How do you want to grow the business?
• How do you intend to do this?
• Recognise the current skills in the workforce and identify any skills gaps/shortages that need to be addressed
If you find any of these questions hard to answer, you're not alone. Ensuring you have the right staff with the right skills to meet current and future demand is a difficult act to balance - yet it can be critical to business growth.
The information below can help you learn more about the support available to help you find the right staff. You can also find useful, bite-sized information and guidance on our Business Tapas platform, which has helpful business information on lots of topics.
Here you can learn more about the Cheshire & Warrington Pledge Partnership and the virtual careers expos they have been delivering; hear from local businesses and education partners.
The Cheshire & Warrington LSIP (Local Skills Improvement Plan) is a one-stop shop for employers looking for easily accessible information on skills training, funding and support in our area.
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GetMyFirstJob is the UK’s leading website for early careers; helps individuals find apprenticeships, work placements, entry-level jobs and more across various industries in the UK. They have recently expanded to offer GetMyFirstDigitalJob, focussed on opportunities in digital/IT. As the programme is funded, it is free for businesses to register their opportunities on the site. This is a great targeted opportunity for businesses across Cheshire & Warrington who might be struggling to fill their gaps, or who are looking to offer work placement opportunities as part of their CSR/ESG fulfilment. This leaflet provides more information. |
From 1st April 2024 the government will fully fund all apprenticeships for small businesses. This means they’ll pay the full cost for apprenticeship training for anyone up to the age of 21. Apprenticeship levy paying employers will also benefit from changes come April.
Follow this link for more information.
This autism inclusion in the workplace guide forms part of our
disability series. Including this guide, the series contains 11 in-depth
documents to support employees with disabilities across all
considerations of the employee experience.
Guide booklet with practical advice for employers to supporting disabled people and those with long-term health conditions in the workplace.
The Council's Work Zones can work with employers to source potential employees. Visit the Cheshire West and Chester Council website to learn more.
Employers who are looking to recruit can complete the online employer form and these vacancies are then shared across the work zones to try and match with customers they are supporting.
A practical guide for managers on recruiting, retaining and developing people with a disability or health condition. The guidance is part of the Disability Confident campaign.
Launched in response to COVID19 the Cheshire & Warrington Opportunities Employment website provides employment, apprenticeships and training courses opportunities, which are specifically designed to support people in the North who have lost their job as a result of the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The free-to-use platform will make it easier for those across the North, who have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, to find new employment and training opportunities in their local area. The website will be a comprehensive resource for accessing real-time vacancies, training courses, and apprenticeships across the region, as well as finding opportunities from throughout the UK.
We provide responsive and sensitive support at point of need to businesses facing issues related to redundancy or downsizing.
Our Redundancy Action Support Team (RAST) offers redundancy advice and guidance services to employers addressing redundancy issues in Cheshire West. The wider team comprises professional, private and public sector organisations, whose aim is to increase awareness of the advice available and broker the right support for your business. As part of our offer, we can provide personal support to your employees as required.
Our services are free and can be tailored to suit your needs. If you would like to discuss your requirements in confidence, please contact Redundancy Support for Businesses by emailing; skillsandemployment@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk. Alternatively, you can find a useful summary of support for people facing redundancy on the Gov.UK website.
There are a range of government programmes available for employers who are considering hiring employees or offering work experience and some of these offer financial incentives. The information on Gov.UK helps employers understand the programmes available so they can decide which would be best suited to their business.
There is more information about local skills programmes in the pages below.
Cheshire West and Chester Council's Supported Employment service offers:
- A free recruitment service
- We will find the right employee by identifying skills, abilities, interests, and experiences to enable a good job match
- Provide workforce training in workplace diversity and inclusion
- Time unlimited, tailored support
- Support you to make reasonable adjustments to facilitate workforce diversity (if required)
- Provide information, advice and guidance
- Provide in-work support with induction and training (if required)
The benefits of a diverse and inclusive workforce are far reaching:
- Improved job retention and job satisfaction in the workplace
- Enables you to hire dedicated and well-matched workers, from a wide talent pool
- Great for company reputation and demonstrates your corporate social responsibility
- Reduces recruitment costs
- Promotes an inclusive work culture and teamwork
- More diverse companies have greater levels of innovation and attract a diverse customer base
- Reflects the local community
- Improves profitability
Together let’s create a workplace where diversity and inclusion thrive!
The Supported Employment service works with adults with learning disabilities or autism and helps them to find their ideal jobs. Our focus is on understanding your business needs and finding the right person for the job.
Our offer:
- Valued support – good quality and free
- Customer service – trusted, friendly, responsive
- Knowledge and experience of disability
- Local, convenient and easy to access
- Good reputation, credible and well branded
- Ethical service with good aftercare
To access this free support, just get in touch supportedemploymentservice@cheshirewest.gov.uk
Further information about the Council's Skills and Employment support can be found on the Cheshire West and Chester Council's website.
Are you looking to upskill your employees? We are offering free
numeracy courses to businesses. Our courses can help your employees
develop the skills needed to progress personally and professionally.
The training we can provide includes:
• Formal numeracy Maths Award qualifications through course work.
• Functional Skills Maths qualifications (equivalent to C/Grade 4 GCSE).
• Bespoke sector specific numeracy activities tailored to your business.
Benefits to your business include:
• Your business benefits from an upskilled workforce, at no extra cost.
• Your employees feel more confident within their role and equipped to perform to
their maximum ability.
• Your employees will benefit from increased numeracy skills in their personal lives.
If you would like to find out more about our courses and how they can help your employees, please get in touch with us. We look forward to hearing from you.
For more information contact email multiply@cheshirewest.gov.uk or phone 07798742100.
Fact sheet to help understand how learning disabilities affect people and how to support colleagues with learning disabilities.
Are you searching for skilled Software Developers or IT Support to join your team?
Look no further! Through the Cheshire & Warrington Skills Bootcamps there is a pool of talented candidates who are ready to bring their expertise to your business.
Candidates with Software Development and Cyber Security skills.
Email gina.hilton@wearecodenation.com for more information.
Gen Z (born 1995 and after) have more university degrees and certifications than any previous generation when entering the workforce. They’re the first wave of employees to be fully digitally native. They exhibit a higher degree of social consciousness and environmental awareness compared to preceding generations and demonstrate a
willingness to engage in open conversations about mental health and political issues.
On average, six in ten Gen Z employees reportedly expect their employers to adopt publicly stated stances on social and environmental issues.
Learn what Gen Z is looking for in an employer and the benefits and rewards of employing Gen Z.
Managing Staff
Managing staff and their wellbeing
Staff are key to the success of any business.
Businesses need to ensure that staff have the right values, training, and skills to deliver what the business needs to succeed.
West Cheshire Local Living Wage
West Cheshire Local Living Wage
Paying the Local Living Wage is voluntary. It is a statement that you back west Cheshire and want its people and its economy to thrive.
Visit the Cheshire West and Chester Council website to find out more.
Help and support for older workers
We’re living longer, healthier lives and have the opportunity to think differently about working as we get older.
Recent years have seen more older people in employment than ever before, but many people over 50 are at risk of leaving the workforce early, and not necessarily because they want to.
Visit the Gov.uk for more information and guidance.
Starbucks confirms reopening date for new-look shopping park branch
A Chester-based property management firm has been officially shortlisted for the prestigious 2025 Cheshire Business Awards, a regional honour that celebrates business excellence across the county.