Agencies stump up £5m in incentives for ex MG Rover workers

A £5m package offering practical incentives for former MG Rover workers to take up new employment in the manufacturing sector has been unveiled.

Regional development agency Advantage West Midlands and the Learning and Skills Council have put together a set of measures designed to maximise incentives for individuals to remain employed in manufacturing and to minimise the loss of existing high level skills from the sector.

The package also offers incentives for employers to recruit former MG Rover workers, addressing existing skills shortages across the West and East Midlands manufacturing sector.

The manufacturing recruitment and skills matching service, which will start on 25 April, includes:

• A travel subsidy of up to £75 per week for up to 20 weeks to help employees who may have to travel further to find work


• Entitlement to re-skilling to a minimum of NVQ 2 (or equivalent) in a manufacturing skill relevant to the individual and business needs


• Employers who take on former MG Rover staff will receive all upskilling costs in full along with free training of an additional employee to NVQ 3


• A wage subsidy of £50 per week for 12 weeks for employers who recruit former MG Rover staff

The Learning and Skills Council is also working with the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) industry forum to launch a job-matching scheme for engineering related industries.

David Cragg, West Midlands regional director for the Learning and Skills Council, said this package of recruitment and skills matching would have an immediate impact on the workforce.

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“We know there is a skills shortage in the manufacturing sector but at the same time we have hard working, skilled and experienced individuals coming into the job market,” he said. “By putting activities such as the travel subsidy and retraining programmes in place we hope to put people back into work as quickly as possible.”

There are nine regional development agencies in England whose role is to provide leadership and action to create more, better jobs and an improved quality of life for workers.