Employment and skills support

Our purpose

Kirklees Employment and Skills are committed to developing life and work skills for all, enabling better employment opportunities for those who live in Kirklees. We help support businesses to access the workforce they require in order to grow and succeed. Leading to thriving businesses, an increase in earning potential and in turn an improved quality of life.

Within our service, we have an extensive range of programmes, all of which can provide you with support depending on your individual needs. Whether you're just starting out, or you're looking to progress, we will direct you to the relevant programme to offer the support best suited to you. We work with a number of trusted partners who deliver support in a flexible and bespoke manner, to suit your needs and lifestyle, and our team can introduce you to the most suitable team to help.

Support into employment or progressing your career

Our team can support you in breaking down any barriers that you may face when moving into employment, progressing within your career and developing your required skillset. You can access bespoke support, tailored specifically to your needs and future aspirations. Whether you need help developing your CV, practicing your interview techniques or would like support in building your confidence to secure your dream job, we can help.

We can also offer information and guidance if you are employed and looking to improve your job status, helping assess your future career plans, supporting you in identifying qualifications, sourcing better work opportunities, helping you to find your next job role or career challenge and ensuring you have the skills needed to develop and thrive.

Developing your skills and accessing adult Learning courses

We want people in Kirklees to have aspirations to achieve their ambitions through education, training, employment and lifelong learning.

Within Kirklees and the surrounding area there are a raft of courses available for adults looking to develop their skills, whether it be returning to learning for the first time, looking to retrain into a different vocational area or access apprenticeship training to support career development, there is an offer. Courses are delivered by a wide range of training providers, and we are available to answer your questions, help you find the right course for you and ensure you're receiving the correct kind of support.

The service directly delivers a number of adult learning courses, available to suit all different levels and needs, ranging from everyday budget management to digital skills, from volunteering opportunities to mental health and wellbeing, plus bespoke ESOL support so Kirklees Council is a great place to start, or continue, your learning journey. Adult education and skills tells you about the adult learning courses on offer.

If you feel ready to move on or these courses are not right for you we work with a number of partners who deliver across the district, from entry level courses through to degrees. If you are unsure where to look and who to turn to our independent advisors can help

We are also able to offer you support to ensure you are digital included, as we support Digital Hubs run by local community organisations to make sure that access to devices, spaces and digital skills are available to everyone. This is to help you to access digital services to manage your money, health,housing, leisure and mental wellbeing. Find out more in digital access and skills training.

Apprenticeship support

We offer a wide range of support to help you navigate Apprenticeship qualifications and options.

We can work with anyone over the age of 15, either employed or unemployed, who are looking for support into work, apprenticeships, in work progression, self-employment, re-skilling or further learning and training opportunities. We can help you assess your future career plans, supporting you in identifying qualifications, sourcing better work opportunities, helping you to find your next job role or career challenge and ensuring you have the skills needed to develop and thrive.

If you are a business looking to benefit from hiring an apprentice, we can provide advice on financial support, business support and recruitment support, plus much more - Employing an apprentice