Our flagship programme, New Futures, supported workers who were looking to change career and reskill as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. This work was funded by the Covid-19 Support Fund.

The programme included three strands of work:

1. Four place-based pilots to test potential solutions to reskilling and career change at a local level
2. Evaluation and analysis
3. Sharing what we learn to help shape policy and practice

About the pilots

We worked with partners across the UK to deliver four place-based pilots aimed to support workers affected by Covid-19 to reskill and change career. Pilots were delivered in Edinburgh, Belfast, Wales and Tees Valley.

The pilots were designed to reflect the needs of local labour markets and the skills of local populations, and all of them involved:

• Tailored and targeted outreach
• High quality careers advice and coaching
• Practical solutions to address barriers to reskilling, such as flexible models of training deliver and help with childcare or travel costs

Working closely with local partners, including employers, skills and employment support services, and voluntary and community sector organisations

The pilots ran until the end of September 2023 and has been evaluated to help L&W create a robust evidence base to demonstrate to policy makers what works in supporting workers to reskill and change career.

Discover insights from our Wales pilot:

Tees Valley

Tees Valley Combined Authority worked with local employers and established skills academies to understand current skills demands and the local labour market to ensure people were matched to available job opportunities. The aims were to test what works in supporting individuals to change career by providing intensive career coaching alongside skills training,  and supporting residents adversely affected by the pandemic into sustainable, progressive careers.