The South Ribble Skills Factory is a dedicated skills hub providing free skills and recruitment support.
Support for businesses
The Skills Factory offers businesses a platform to raise local awareness of job vacancies, contract work opportunities and apprenticeships. The Skills Factory support offer includes matching businesses with local residents and tradespeople e.g. plasterers, bricklayers, joiners etc. who are registered with the Skills Factory and are actively seeking work opportunities.
The South Ribble Skills Matching Service is for businesses which:
- have apprenticeship or a job vacancies available
- are looking for training support
- would like to find local contractors or suppliers.
Complete a Skills Matching vacancy form to register your businesses vacancies.
Support for residents
The Skills Factory offers residents the opportunity to register to receive news of job vacancies, contract work opportunities and apprenticeships. The Skills Factory support offer includes connecting job seekers to businesses who are recruiting and connecting tradespeople e.g. plasterers, bricklayers, joiners etc. to work opportunities in the borough.
The South Ribble Skills Matching Service is for anyone who is
- seeking an apprenticeship or a job
- looking for training
- interested in finding local contract and sub-contracting opportunities.
Complete a Skills Matching job seeker form to register your interest in opportunities.
Apprentiship Incentive
There are 100 incentive payments of £3,000 to Lancashire employers who recruit, and employ, an apprentice under twenty-five years old before 30th September 2025.
The number of apprenticeship starts for this age category has been falling since 2018. Consequently, this incentive aims to:
- Stimulate employers to recruit young people into their workplace.
- Address systemic skills gaps that have been amplified by an ageing workforce and the rising numbers classed as economically inactive.
- Show young people there are thriving industries and employers that are offering them great opportunities to forge their careers in Lancashire.
This incentive payment of £3,000 is paid in two equal instalments to the employer. To be eligible for the incentive payment.
- No apprentice must have been recruited in the two years preceding this application
- The business (including its parent/holding company/ies and subsidiaries) does not employ more than 249 people or has revenues greater than £50 million.
- The business has premises in Lancashire County Council's jurisdiction where the apprentice will be based. This excludes the unitary authorities of Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen.
- No recruitment for this apprenticeship has taken place before this application.
- Funding, per Section 36 of the Subsidy Control Act 2022, has not exceeded £312,000 over a rolling three-year financial period (including the current one).
The award of the incentive is dependent upon a commitment to Advertise the vacancy on www.findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk. The first instalment will be released upon verification from the training provider that the apprentice has been enrolled.