Make the Right Connections - Skills Transition Programme
A £2.3 million skills development programme, ‘Make the Right Connections’ aimed at helping local people benefit from new job opportunities, was launched in May 2011.
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross MP John Thurso launched the programme on behalf of Caithness Chamber of Commerce, which is leading this business transformation initiative.
“Make the Right Connections” aims to help local companies and their staff grasp new commercial opportunities expected to come to the region, replacing work lost in the run-down of the Dounreay nuclear site.
New jobs are expected in the north of Scotland from developments such as renewable marine energy in the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters, offshore wind in the North Sea and business service support made possible by new super fast broadband connections.
“Make the Right Connections” helps employees of businesses that currently support Dounreay decommissioning to develop their job skills towards new employment opportunities as the site moves towards closure. Over £800,000 of funding for the programme has come from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and a further £300,000 from Dounreay Site Restoration Limited. Other sources include £1.15m from the European Structural Fund and £40,000 from Skills Development Scotland.
The programme helps to retain skills in the area, adapt workforce capabilities, boost employment and generate new enterprises in the region. It will also assist local supply chain businesses diversify into new sectors.
In order to assist in the delivery of the programme the project has been broken down into a series of seven objectives. Each objective has been developed into a series of specific work packages which will enable the project to be phased and the programme objectives realised.
The objectives of the programme are:
• Support Dounreay supply chain businesses to redefine their capabilities to fit emerging opportunities
• Market the redefined skills to attract inward investment
• Encourage personal motivation for change
• Facilitate personal career adaptation and diversification
• Provide extensive, practical career development, retraining and redeployment
• Facilitate the repositioning of people into new jobs or enterprises
• Facilitate matching of re-skilled people with new opportunities
By registering for the programme companies can benefit from capability reviews, diversification opportunities, redefined company skills and tailored training programmes which inevitably assist in workforce retention.
Any company or individual interested in finding out more about the programme can contact:
Marcus Mennie or Christine Miller
Make the Right Connections (MtRC)
Caithness Chamber of Commerce
Caithness Horizons
Old Town Hall
Thurso KW14 8AJ
Tel: 01847 896508
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
