Flexible Skills Programme

Inclusive Growth lies at the heart of the Deal. This project will drive inclusive growth and tackle inequality, through growing local talent and providing new opportunities and routes into employment for people across the region.

The programme uses funding to deliver support to 500 people across the region facing or experiencing labour market exclusion. It also supports strategic approaches across the Deal, influencing the wider regional skills and employability system to respond to opportunities created in the local labour market resulting from the Deal.

The project has refined its target groups as a result of the pandemic to assist those worst affected in the labour market. The pandemic has highlighted the need to ensure just access to digital skills and technologies and the need for the development of skills which will support the delivery of a more sustainable future.

The project will be guided via the development of Skills Pathways Plans. These plans will be owned by individual Deal projects with support from the Flexible Skills Programme. They will maximise opportunities as follows:

• Infrastructure project delivery and the ongoing use of that infrastructure project
• The wider opportunities the infrastructure project creates for the region
• A legacy to support the skills required for inclusive economic growth stimulated by the Deal.

Two small projects are currently in progress;

• Flexible Digital Skills being run by Forth Valley College (Alloa Campus) has already attracted 22 delegates in the first programme, with a second cohort commencing late 2022.
• Bikeability project being delivered by Forth Environment Link on behalf of Stirling Council