Council to lead £14.3 million skills recovery programme

25 August 2021

A recovery and skills programme designed to support thousands of workers and hundreds of businesses across the North-east is to be led by Aberdeen City Council.

The authority is the lead accountable body for the £14.3million North East Economic Recovery and Skills Fund, which brings together a range of partners to deliver 29 projects designed to support Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire in the recovery from the economic impacts of the oil and gas downturn and Covid-19 pandemic. Energy transition, green recovery, inclusion and equalities are the key themes of the programme.

Aberdeen City Council Leader Councillor Jenny Laing said: “This programme will further build on the tremendous progress we have made towards becoming a low-carbon economy. Actions around energy transition are the key to the future economic health and prosperity of the Aberdeen City region.

“Our council has led the way in the deploying ground-breaking technology, as demonstrated by the projects within Hydrogen Aberdeen, the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre, and our commitment to reaching Net Zero emissions through our own actions as a local authority.

“It is crucial that we have funds in place to support our workforce through training programmes and re-skilling. By encouraging business growth, we can ensure our residents are able to access new jobs. We look forward to working with partners in aligning all elements of this programme, so that we continue to translate economic success into social success by offering equal opportunities for all.”

Council leader Councillor Jenny Laing

Opportunity North East (ONE) Chief Executive Jennifer Craw said: “Our region has a clear vision for economic recovery and transformation – to focus on high-value activity and transition to a low-carbon economy as quickly as possible. This new funding addresses specific challenges in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire and builds on the action, investment, and partnerships driving recovery and diversification.

“The projects, including those led by ONE, will help growing businesses across the region provide high-quality employment and training opportunities for people in a low-carbon economy and ensure that we contribute to an environmentally sustainable net-zero future at home and internationally.

“This is what a just transition to a better and fairer economy looks like, and it is what will make a genuine difference to people, their attainment and prospects, quality of life, and outlook.”

Aberdeen City Council will oversee delivery of the diverse range of projects, which bring together a range of partners from the public, private and education sectors to support training, business growth, job creation across the city region area. A programme manager will provide key links between each of the projects.

Aberdeen City Council will be directly responsible for delivering three projects, as well as oversight of the broader programme. The authority has secured more than £2million to create paid internships and work experience placements to provide valuable industry experience to college and university graduates and people aged 25+ who face barriers to employment.

More than £110,000 will be used to support young people who have disengaged from education but who remain on the school roll and who are too young to benefit from other employability funding; and £18,000 will be used to support people accessing these programmes to overcome financial barriers to employment.