South Yorkshire Mayor launches plan to fix “fractured” communities with new skills and growth strategies

During the launch event, Mr Coppard first spoke to a group of local business and education figures, before going to Barnsley College to speak to students about the new plans.

Speaking on the issues the schemes hope to combat, Mr Coppard said: “We have faced, as a region, a series of challenges over a number of years, and that started back in the 1980s.

“The long shadow of South Yorkshire’s history matters to our confidence, and I think we had our confidence kicked out of us during those years when we were losing jobs and industries, and as a result of that, our communities were fractured.

“The coal mines shut, as well as the steel industry and heavy industries. We lost out on that as they moved abroad, and as a result, South Yorkshire lost thousands of jobs in a really short space of time. The social consequences of that and the fabric of our communities that was fractured by those industries being shuttered is still a scar on the economy of South Yorkshire.”

The newly announced Plan for Good Growth aims to set out how South Yorkshire will attract investment and income into the region and grow more secure, high-paid jobs.

The plan aims to achieve this by supporting the development of four Growth Areas – Sheffield City Centre and Innovation Spine, South Yorkshire Airport City, the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District and Barnsley Town Centre – as well as improving connection and community through investment in the region.

The Skills Strategy outlines seven flagship programmes which aim to move those outside the labour market into work or help them to be ready for work. It also aims to raise attainment of core knowledge and skills, as well as increasing the supply of a high-skilled workforce.

The seven programmes include expansion of Skills Bank – a national exemplar of public and private investment in upskilling the workforce – and a taskforce to design a South Yorkshire Young Person’s Offer which aims to support young people to take the next step in developing the skills needed for work and life.

Speaking on the new plans, Angela Foulkes, chief executive and principal of The Sheffield College and member of the South Yorkshire Skills Advisory Board, said: “I think it's really good to have a direction of travel, and I think the intent behind the plans is absolutely spot on for South Yorkshire. I think that the real key to this is that we are all participants and not bystanders, and I think it's really important to understand that this is about future generations' prosperity.

SYMCA estimates that helping 20,000 people with no qualifications to move up to Level Two could generate £200m in earnings.

Analysis from SYMCA also suggests that closing the national average productivity level gap would add 17.8 per cent, or £5.9bn, to the South Yorkshire economy.