Woodspeen Training issues reaction to 2024 Budget

CEO, John Deaville, reflects on the Chancellor’s budget

Today’s budget announcement has outlined a range of Government initiatives designed to offer continued support to businesses, communities, and families. The measures should impact both SMEs and larger businesses continue to recover from the impact increased costs that have been affecting businesses across the country.  

Woodspeen Training knows that to enable businesses to achieve some of the ambitions the Chancellor laid out, that continuing investment in people and skills will be imperative. Without staff that are embedded into the business, that truly understand how, what, why, and when, businesses will struggle to make the most of the opportunities the budget has defined. 

Woodspeen Training works with businesses across the country in a range of sectors, we are able to really understand their needs and how the budget will affect them. For example with the reconfirmation of funded childcare places for 9 month olds beginning in September 2024, we have been speaking to early years providers to understand their concerns on how to manage costs and staffing levels. These conversations enabled us to put a package in place to support early years settings recruit more staff, by offering paid DBS checks and free paediatric first aid courses. Reducing the cost and administration burden on these businesses. 

The Chancellor also noted how many children in care are being looked after by unregistered providers and staff that aren’t trained to support children in this difficult time. Woodspeen Training is working with care providers, offering residential childcare apprenticeships, meaning staff are qualified to help children that are in residential children’s homes. 

We have also recently been working with businesses in the automotive sector that have been accessing our associate project management apprenticeship. They have been telling us how projects fail without a person whose sole job it is to plan, manage, and lead the project through to success. With the budget outlining support for this sector, alongside advanced manufacturing and pharmaceuticals, we will be working with businesses to tailor our courses to their specific needs. 

We hope that the Chancellor’s announcement of devolution deals for areas across the country will support the expansion of Adult Education Budget programmes. We have seen the impact these courses have had on our local communities, especially people that have moved here from countries such as Ukraine, and how that have enabled them to gain employment and successfully integrate into their local community. 

Woodspeen Training understands the impact apprenticeships have on businesses, how they fill skills gaps, support succession planning, and champion local communities through employment. We will be working to continue that provision with strengthened business and a team that believe that skills change lives. 

For more information on the courses Woodspeen Training offers contact the team now.