We pledged £1million to help retrain and upskill people in Sussex following the Coronavirus pandemic.

Since the pandemic began in March 2020, we have now invested £1.5m in focused work, helping furloughed adults to upskill, retrain or get a new job. We continue with this pledge to support adults in 2022, with a range of fully funded courses and qualifications, available to businesses and employees without cost.

We are working in partnership with a range of organisations, including East Sussex County Council, South East Local Enterprise Partnership, the Department for Work and Pensions, Let’s Do Business Group and Sussex Chamber of Commerce, to create an effective mix of training that will benefit employers and their staff as well as those looking for work.

Staff who have been furloughed are able to access a range of online learning courses from home. Employers and managers are able to train as mental health first aid to support their teams while working remotely.

Adults claiming Universal Credit will have access to pre-employment training programmes that are directly linked to job opportunities. These courses are studied intensively to achieve certificates and skills over a 1-3 week period.

College leavers and university graduates will also benefit from the pledge as they will have access to bespoke employability training programmes to better equip them for the challenging labour market following their studies

The fund will also be used to support the upskilling of existing workers and volunteers across the county with digital skills and business start-up training.