Blue Orchid - Projects | Business Link | Business Vacancy | Business Advice UK | Accredited Provider of Business Support and Consultancy in Merseyside

Projects Projects >> Skillworks 60%

Skillworks will pay a grant of up to 60% towards staff training costs for eligible Merseyside SME’s. The programme is funded by the Learning and Skills Council and European funding. Blue Orchid as a Skillworks broker will help companies identify staff’s training needs, cost up the training and source the training required all within a single package. Further recommendations on other training support is provided within the service.

Here are just a few of the questions you might be asking:

Who provides the training?
That depends on you and what training your business needs, the training is completely flexible to meet your demands and specialist requirements. We can recommend training providers or they may be your own choice. The entire training plan, including scheduling and payment is all managed by Blue Orchid

What if I need several different people trained?
It makes no difference if you need one employee or your entire workforce trained Blue Orchid will be responsible for meeting all your needs.

Are qualifications involved?
While training doesn’t necessarily lead to a qualification, we do believe that working towards achieving national or industry standards via formal qualifications can often play a useful part in improving workforce skills. Our staff will be able to advise you on a range of options and additional support available.

How do I get Skillworks?
One of Blue Orchid's experienced Skills training advisors will visit you to learn how your company is structured, and what immediate and longer term strategies are in place to secure the future. The idea is to agree on a training plan that will fit your company's needs. The plan is yours - we simply help to produce it and draw down the funding.

Do you charge for this brokerage service?
All Skillworks brokers charge a management fee to help organise the Skillworks programme, Blue Orchid believes itself to be the lowest charging provider. We are able to charge a low fee because we have invested heavily on our processes, which means the savings are passed to the client without compromising quality.

Contact
To find out more about how the Skillworks programme can help your business to grow, contact us on 0151 284 7728 and ask for Paul Ward

Please note the amount of funding available is limited and will be distributed on a first come first served basis.

SMEs in Greater Merseyside are eligible for SkillWorks
An SME is defined as a "small or medium-sized enterprise" and is any entity engaged in economic activity, irrespective of its legal form - including self-employed people, family businesses, partnerships and associations provided that it:

• employs fewer than 250 people.
• has a turnover of less than €50 million (about £35m) per annum or net balance sheet assets of less than €43 million (about £30m).
• is an enterprise with less than 25 % of the capital or voting rights owned by another enterprise (or enterprises) which is not itself a SME. This threshold may be exceeded if the capital is held by public investment corporations, venture capitalist or institutional investors. An enterprise with 25 % or more of its capital or voting rights controlled by a public body is not a SME.
• You may still be ranked as autonomous even if the 25% threshold is reached or exceeded by any of the following investors:
• Public investment corporations, venture capital companies and business angels.
• Universities and non-profit research centres.
• Institutional investors, including regional development funds.
• Autonomous local authorities with an annual budget of less than €10 million and fewer than 5,000 inhabitants.
• Details and explanations of the new SME definition which took effect on 1/1/2005 are available in a User Guide published by the European Commission. Click here to download a PDF version.

SkillWorks covers five Merseyside local authorities; eligible objective 1 postcodes are as follows:

Liverpool L1, L2, L3, L4, L5, L6, L7, L8, L9, L11, L12, L13, L14, L15, L16, L17, L18, L19, L24, L25, L27

Knowsley L10, L26, L28, L32, L33, L34, L35, L36

Sefton L20, L21, L22, L23, L29, L30, L31, L37, L38, PR8, PR9

Wirral CH41, CH42, CH43, CH44, CH45, CH46, CH47, CH48, CH49, CH60, CH61, CH62, CH63

St Helens WA9 1, WA9 2, WA9 3, WA9 4, WA9 5, WA10 1, WA10 2, WA10 3, WA10 4, WA10 5, WA10 6, WA11 7, WA11 8, WA11 9, WA11 10, WA12 0, WA12 8, WA12 9, WN4 0, WN5 7, L34 (part), L35 (part)

These postcodes are merely a guide, your geographical eligibility will be checked by providers. If you are having difficulties with The SkillWork's eligibility criteria do not hesitate to Contact Us to discuss your case.