UK Shared Prosperity Fund money is making a definitive and positive impact on individuals across Shropshire.

For the last two years the funding has been used to fund “Multiply”, a programme designed to improve numeracy skills for people in the workplace or those looking to find employment.

Multiply is funded by the Department for Education through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, and the team at Shropshire Council have been working with partners to deliver courses across the county.

On receiving the funding Shrewsbury Colleges Group engaged ANTA Education Ltd as a delivery partner. ANTA reported that, within eight weeks of promoting the programme, 40 people had signed up to courses.

Corinne Brown, Business Development Manager at Shrewsbury Colleges Group, said:-

“It seems many people have an aversion to maths, which can often date back to schooldays. So I was delighted to work with ANTA Education Ltd, who identified a key enabler for employment with their health and safety in construction courses, embedding numeracy that was relevant to real life work situations. It just seemed to make sense, and the participants have thrived as a result.”

Jason is a student who has benefitted from the training. He studied for a Construction Skills Certification Scheme card after being out of work for over a year, and took the health and safety course as part of this qualification.

After qualifying Jason managed to gain employment almost immediately, so was able to put his new skills to good use right away.

Jason said:-

“My experience with ANTA was amazing. The level of support they offer cannot be matched, and they made the process feel effortless. Gaining a new job has helped me in so many ways, thank you.”

Craig Howard, Managing Director of ANTA Education Ltd, commented:-

“Through participating in the course Jason gained confidence and overcame various personal barriers to achieve his goal. We are very proud of him. He’s been in touch recently to let us know he’s gone on to gain further qualifications ,and can now operate 10-tonne excavators on site.“

Amy Farley, part of Shropshire Council’s economic growth team dealing with UK Shared Prosperity Fund money, said:-

“This is a great example of UK Shared Prosperity Fund money in action. Partners and businesses working together with the funding we’ve provided.  It’s gratifying to know that the money is successfully filtering through, reaching the people who can benefit, and making a real difference to them.”

Mark Jones, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for growth and regeneration, said:-

“Our economic growth team worked hard to secure this funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, and it is now starting to yield results. We have funded a great many exciting projects, and look forward to more positive stories about how the funding has supported individuals and communities across the county.”

To read about some of the projects currently being supported see : https://www.investinshropshire.co.uk/uk-shared-prosperity-projects/

Further information

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the Government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025. The fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills.

For more information, visit UK Shared Prosperity Fund:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus