Wigan public sector organisations join forces with university

The partnership is between Wigan Council, Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh (WWL) NHS Foundation Trust, Wigan and Leigh College and Edge Hill University.

The aim is to improve opportunities for people to develop their skills, enhance their ability to gain employment and make sectors such as health, social care and education more attractive as career options.

The organisations hope working together will provide more life chances and prospects for people locally, particularly those at school, college and university.

Projects under development include increasing the number of apprenticeships and work placements, boosting research and development activity, working with small and medium sized businesses and identifying skills gaps before working collectively to bridge them.

There are also plans to provide new collaborations around providing training, including developing skills labs offering continuous professional development for nurses, research and development activity and understanding of analytics and business intelligence.

An agreement between the four organisations outlines the scope of the partnership.

Richard Mundon, WWL’s director of strategy and planning, said, “We are thrilled to be working more closely with our council and our education partners to make the Wigan borough a healthier place to live, with improved opportunities for younger people to learn and gain employment locally”.

Steve Igoe, Edge Hill University’s deputy vice-chancellor, said: “As one of the largest providers of teacher training, health and social care education in the North West and home to the new Medical School, Edge Hill has always been at the forefront of developing the next generation of professionals in these vital sectors.

"We’re delighted to be working with our Wigan partners to develop plans to improve prospects for people locally which will impact positively on the wider economy.”

Anna Dawe, Wigan and Leigh College principal, said: “This partnership is all about creating opportunity and will maximise education and employment choices for borough residents.

"Working together we will be able to strengthen our local education and skills offer and deliver further and higher education differently. We can’t wait to get started.”

Leader of Wigan Council, Coun David Molyneux, said: “Earlier this year we launched our ambitious skills strategy for the borough, in collaboration with local partners.

"The aim of the strategy is to ensure that our residents have access to local learning opportunities that address the borough’s skill shortages and help residents embark on a meaningful career where there are plenty of employment prospects.

"In the context of a post-Covid-19 world, this strategy is more vital than ever as we and our residents face significant financial uncertainty.

"This partnership supports our strategy for the borough and our ambition to support people into skilled employment and really goes to show what we can achieve when we work together.”