Member Article

Hull and Humber City Deal promising over 4,000 green energy jobs signed today

The Hull and Humber City Deal will be signed today in an attempt to equip local people and businesses to take advantage of the growth in the offshore wind and green energy sectors.

Hull and Humber has negotiated support to advance its work as a pilot area for the ‘single conversation’ which sees the Humber LEP and its Local authority partners working with agencies to ensure a smoother and faster planning process for major developments around the Humber Estuary.

It has also negotiated support to address the challenges of the skills gap and implement a number of measures to tackle Youth Employment as well as get more people into training or work. This will be supported by a range of business support measures to help businesses reach their potential.

The Hull and Humber City Deal will deliver funding for the Humber LEP’s Growth Hub programme, engaging with up to 3,000 businesses and providing intensive support to 500 creating 400 jobs. This has seen £2.5m committed by the government via the Lancaster University RGF4.

The deal will allow for the development of a Humber Spatial Plan and mitigation/compensation plan, and create a Humber Environmental Data Observatory as part of measures that will reduce the time and make it more cost effective for investors to come to the region while supporting the sustainable development of the Humber.

As part of the deal the Government is backing plans by the Hull and Humber City Deal partners to make the Humber a Centre of Excellence for Energy Skills by providing £1.245m skills capital funding matched by £1.9m from local colleges to improve and expand training facilities.

The government will support an additional 1,500 adults to take up relevant courses over 3 years, with 760 additional people qualified to level 3.

The deal has secured the support of The Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Skills Funding Agency to work with Humber LEP and local City Deal partners to develop and implement a payment by results pilot for the Humber, which will incentivise training providers for helping people into work.

The Hull and the Humber deal promises to tackle Youth Employment by implementing a Springboard Programme to reduce youth unemployment across the Humber, encourage increased investment in skills by local employers through a Humber Skills Fund and improve careers information and advice through a Humber Careers Hub.

This has seen a commitment of £5.5m from the Government.

The deal promises:

• At least 1,100 unemployed young people supported into work
• 3,400 construction jobs
• Accelerated development of key growth sites on the Humber Estuary
• Increased skills capacity of approximately 1,500 additional places over 3 years, with 760 additional people qualified to level 3;
• Engagement with over 3,000 businesses and the provision of intensive support to 500 businesses, creating approximately 400 jobs.

Lord Haskins, Chair of the Humber LEP, said: “This is an important deal which is the first step in devolving more power to our local area. Through the City Deal we will gain some significant tools to support economic growth and an opportunity to show that we can do things better for ourselves.

“The influence we will gain over skills and the national pilot we will be running on youth unemployment will help us to prepare local people for work and the new jobs that will be created in our economy.

“The measures we will deliver to make developing around the Humber Estuary a smoother process will go a long way towards making our area more competitive for inward investment.”

Mike Parker Chair for the Humber LEP employment and Skills board said: “The freedoms, flexibilities and funding allowed by the deal means we can make sure we have the right courses and support for local people to be trained into jobs and to support businesses that invest here and those that are already here.

“By bringing together the resources supplied by the government and those of the five main colleges, we will create a Humber campus with the aim of being recognised as a centre of excellence for energy skills.

“This alongside being a national pilot for a payment by results programme will help us to channel our resources to prepare a Humber workforce to meet the future demand of the renewables industry.

“The commitment by government means we can sustain the demand for training and employers while also targeting young unemployed people and remove the barriers for them to get into employment.”

Councillor Stephen Brady, the Leader of Hull City Council said: “Following on so quickly from the award of UK City of Culture 2017 to Hull, reaching this agreement with Government is very good news for Hull and the Humber.

“The Hull and Humber City Deal is driven by the need to accelerate economic development in the City and the sub region, particularly in relation to the offshore wind industry.

“I am especially delighted that there is such an emphasis in the Deal on improving skills and providing our young people with support to get into work.

“The Hull and Humber City Deal is tangible evidence of the benefits of working in partnership – both at a sub regional level with our partners and at a national level with the Government.

“The Hull and Humber City Deal provides a positive incentive for closer partnership working and Hull will continue to play its full role in the continuing negotiation with the Government for further funding and flexibilities to be devolved from London.”

Cllr Liz Redfern, Leader of North Lincolnshire Council, said: “It’s fantastic news that our Humber City Deal has been approved. Our region aims to become the centre for renewable energy in the UK and the City Deal is a major step forward to helping us achieve our ambition.

“The City Deal proposes to create more than 4,000 jobs in renewable energy and next week the Secretary of State for Transport will determine the planning application for the largest offshore wind park in Europe, on the biggest Enterprise Zone in the UK at the Able Marine Energy Park.

“Providing that we get the go-ahead for our development we look forward to quickly beginning to deliver on creating a brand new renewable energy industry into the Humber and with it, thousands of much needed new jobs.”

Councillor Stephen Parnaby OBE, Leader of East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “The signing of the Hull and Humber City Deal is excellent news for the region and an historic moment.

“It is also a good example of how the four councils are working together with the local business community and the Humber LEP for the benefit of all our residents.

“Signing the deal will allow for the devolution of powers and funding to a local level, so that collectively we can deliver economic growth across the whole of the Humber region and fulfil its ambitions of becoming the centre of the UK’s renewable energy sector.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .