Skills Deal Programme delivers a decade of impact for Suffolk employers

The Skills Deal Programme has officially wrapped up with a sharing best practice event held at West Suffolk College, after more than ten years of targeted investment in skills development across the region. 

The programme began as a £2 million partnership, made up of £1million from the Department for Education and £500k each from Suffolk and Norfolk County Councils. Designed to respond directly to employer need, the Skills Deal Programme supported businesses and training providers to develop new and enhanced training that could help solve real‑world workforce challenges.  

Over the past ten years, the Norfolk and Suffolk Skills Deal Programme focused on enabling partnership working between employers and training providers to address skills gaps, encourage innovative responses to Suffolk’s skills challenges, and widen the talent pipeline in key sectors of the local economy.  

Some of the highlights from the initial phases of the programme included: 

• Over 320 employers supported, across eight key sectors  

• 34 brand new training courses 

• More than 1200 learners gaining new skills 

• Over 50 new job opportunities created for local people.  

Moving into the final phase of the programme focused purely on Suffolk, delivery was led by training providers with a proven track record of successfully delivering previous Skills Deal projects. Projects could be funded if they offered employer‑engaged and innovative interventions, clearly targeted at gaps not met by existing provision or alternative funding streams. 

The impact of the final phase has been significant:  

• 242 additional employers engaged in discussions about their skills needs  

• 17 new courses developed, 14 of which have already been delivered 

• Enhancements to existing courses 

• An additional 220 individuals gaining new skills to support progression in the workplace. 

As the programme concludes, the Skills Deal leaves behind a strong legacy of employer‑led collaboration, innovative training provision and a more responsive skills system. We look forward to seeing how the outcomes from this work continue to support business growth and workforce development across Suffolk. 

Read the full programme evaluation here.