Support for your workforce
Workforce development
North Somerset Economic Development function
North Somerset Economic Development team can provide impartial skills advice, guidance and recruitment support, free of charge.
Contact the Employment and Skills team at business@n-somerset.gov.uk.
West of England Growth Hub
Fully funded 1-2-1 business support for SME’s and scale up businesses.
The team of Enterprise Executives will assess your needs, share a wide range of services and help to support your business https://www.wearegrowth.co.uk/workforce
Workforce for the Future
The programme provided by West of England Combined Authority is designed to support SMEs with skills shortages and skills needs Workforce for the Future – Combined Authority (westofengland-ca.gov.uk)
Wellbeing and organisational support for your workforce
Healthy Workplaces
North Somerset Healthy Workplace Award
Don’t know where to start with improving the health and wellbeing of your workplace? The North Somerset Healthy Workplaces Award is a free programme which provides a flexible framework that enables you to capture existing work that supports the health and well-being of your employees. It will help you to identify areas that may need some improvement and also provide you with inspiration and ideas, to progress and make positive changes in your workplace. Find out more https://www.betterhealthns.co.uk/practitioners/healthyworkplaces/north-somerset-healthy-workplace-award-programme/
Thrive at Work west of England
Mental health support for the workforce developed by West of England Combined Authority https://wearegrowth.co.uk/
Employers for carers
North Somerset Council supports working carers, and is an active member of Carers UK’s business forum. Find out more about how can you support your employees with caring responsibilities here EfC digital leaflet_01
Disability Confident
North Somerset Council has a Disability Confident Leader status. This enables us to draw from the widest possible pool of talent, and secure, retain and develop disabled staff who are skilled, loyal and hardworking. Find out more on how to become a Disability Confident Employer here https://www.gov.uk/guidance/disability-confident-how-to-sign-up-to-the-employer-scheme
Support with redundancies
Free service, open to all businesses in North Somerset at risk of making redundancies
- Business support interventions aiding diversification, increasing productivity and resilience
- Support with workforce planning and skills needs analysis
- Access to a talent retention platform, helping with recruitment
- Bespoke, accredited, funded training for both employers and employees
- Higher-level skills development including leadership & management and supervisory skills training
Benefits for Businesses
- Increased workforce skills levels, improving performance and profitability
- Competitive advantage in the marketplace and improved chance of winning new business
- Improved staff satisfaction and motivation, reducing staff turnover
- A wider appeal to new recruits
By engaging with the service, business will be able to access free information, advice and guidance on their responsibilities as an employer and support their workforce through the redundancy process, helping them to be able to secure alternative employment and receive information, advice and guidance on running a redundancy process. Business will also be able to access support with restructuring after the redundancy exercise has taken place.
Job Centre Plus Rapid Response Service
You can get help from the Jobcentre Plus Rapid Response Service to:
- write CVs and find jobs
- find information on benefits
- find the right training and learn new skills
- organise work trials (if you’re eligible)
- get any extra help at work if you’re disabled, for example Access to Work
Support with recruitment
Become an Employer of Choice for young people by creating a coordinated approach to work experience programmes, traineeships, industry placements and apprenticeships.
What’s the benefit?
- The creation of a co-ordinated and expanded work experience offer
- Generation of entry level jobs with clearly articulated progression opportunities
- Investment in staff development, succession planning and support areas with recruitment and retention issues
- Ability to support the most vulnerable residents into sustained employment
Contact business@n-somerset.gov.uk to find out what you can do to become an employer of choice.
Working with untapped talent pool
There are a number of local initiatives which can provide access to unemployed individuals across all skills levels, providing targeted support to both businesses and the individuals where required.
North Somerset Community Learning is part of the Community Learning West consortium, working along with Bristol City Council and South Gloucestershire Council, providing employability training opportunities for North Somerset residents.
West of England Works Team North Somerset supports those facing multiple challenges to employment like caring responsibilities, mental health issues, disabilities, learning difficulty, drug and alcohol recovery etc. Contact Team North Somerset on 01934 411 573
North Somerset Economic Development team can provide impartial skills advice, guidance and recruitment support, free of charge. Contact the Employment and Skills team at business@n-somerset.gov.uk.