Locality Working Groups
What are Locality Working Groups?
Locality Working Groups (LWGs) bring together a wide range of partners and their respective provision offers to work collaboratively to provide a coherent range of programmes to meet the needs of local individuals, communities and families. The groups provide a local district forum for the partners to promote details of their local initiatives, projects and to seek details of partner programmes to inform referral and progression routes.
The district groups hold different titles i.e. "Employment & Action Group", "Into Work Group", "Jobs for Growth Group" but each of them share a common agenda.
The LWGs are chairs by colleagues from the respective district/borough councils or training providers and typically include representatives from the local college, DWP, Staffordshire County Council, Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce, private training providers, housing associations and third sector organisations.
What is the Council's role in Locality Working Groups?
The Council is represented on the groups by a member of the Skills & Employability (S&E) team and in some cases colleagues from other Council departments. The groups provide an opportunity to share information on the wide ranging projects and initiatives undertaken by the S&E team and the wider Council initiatives.
From a community learning perspective, it provides a route to seek information on any emerging priorities to inform its commissioning priorities and to promote pound plus opportunities to the group through sharing details of any available grants, tender opportunities etc. i.e. the Council's Community Learning Trust Responsiveness Fund. Latterly the groups have provided an opportunity to promote the range of ESF programmes funded by the European Structural Investment Fund and to communicate developments with the respective District deals.
The Council encourages all of its providers to attend a locality working group in the respective delivery district.
Interested in joining a Locality Working Group?
Everyone who has an interest in adult learning is welcome to join a locality working group. Locality working groups for East Staffordshire and Staffordshire Moorlands are not yet established.
If you would like to know more or would like to become a member of your locality working group, please contact us on 01785 278770 or email communitylearning@staffordshire.gov.uk
Or contact the respective locality working group chair below: