Free Courses to Help Plug Skills Shortages and Help Businesses Grow

NPTC Group of Colleges is offering free part-time courses to help individuals, communities and businesses get back on the road to recovery post COVID.

Not only will the courses help individuals gain the skills needed as workplaces swing back into action, but it will ensure employers also have access to skilled people that they need to thrive.

As businesses return to some normality after two years of uncertainty following the pandemic, the College, which has campuses in Neath Port Talbot, Swansea, Maesteg, Pontardawe, Brecon and Newtown, is offering a broad range of courses, many of which are free or fully funded to support those looking to get back on their feet.

The range of courses has been informed by labour market intelligence* which shows that trends in the labour market are shifting, with the largest growth sectors for South West Wales and Mid Wales anticipated to be in health, accommodation, and food supportive services. The qualifications profile of employment is also projected to change, with a fall in jobs requiring qualifications at Level 2 or below (GCSE level) and instead sustained growth in jobs requiring higher qualifications. It’s thought that by 2027, almost half of jobs in South West Wales and Mid Wales are projected to require a Level 4 plus qualification (diploma level) – which is a substantial increase on the number of people currently qualified at that level.

Mark Dacey CEO and Principal of NPTC Group of Colleges said: “The courses we are offering will help individuals get the skills they need to enhance job prospects or change their career path, whilst at the same time helping employers get the skilled workforce they need moving forward. COVID has had a massive impact on our communities and we are already experiencing skills shortages in many areas including the health care and hospitality sectors.

“We want to encourage people to learn new skills and help them progress so we can help plug those gaps and that’s why we are offering many courses for free.

“The range of courses we are offering will support our communities and will aid employers and employees, many of whom have been hard hit by the pandemic.”

There are a wide range of free part-time courses on offer as well as many Personal Learning Accounts (PLA) courses which allow individuals to access a variety of funded flexible part-time courses.

For further details on courses Click Here

*Source: Nomis 2021