MP encourages DWP Secretary to continue funding training and skills opportunities in Cumbria

On the floor of the House of Commons yesterday, Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to continue funding a skills and training programme for people in Cumbria.

Skills Bootcamps are funded training opportunities for businesses looking to upskill their staff, for employed people to increase their skills to upskill in the workplace, or for job seekers to learn new skills and fast track to an interview with a local employer. 

Speaking in Parliament, Tim said: “Skills Bootcamps in Cumbria have provided a great opportunity: 60 hours of training for young people in disciplines as varied as coding, scaffolding and project management. 

“The cost to deliver those bootcamps across the whole of Cumbria is £2.7 million - chicken feed compared with the benefit that those young people and their future employers get out of them. 

“What conversations has the Secretary of State had with his friends in the Treasury to ensure that that scheme is maintained and continued?”

Responding, the Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said: “I am always having conversations with my friends in the Treasury. I agree with the honourable member that flexibility and some short courses in the skills and training system are very important. 

“Not everything has to be done according to the exact same formula and recipe, and shorter training courses have a big part to play.”