First of its kind talent retention platform launched in West of England

A new service to support businesses and employees at risk of redundancy due to Covid-19 will be launched in April by the West of England Combined Authority (WECA).

The West of England Talent Retention Platform is believed to be the first regional service of its kind in the country and will offer employers looking for new staff a place to share opportunities with other businesses who may be facing the prospect of making staff redundant. It will be able to match an employee’s professional, personal and transferable skills with a range of available job roles across a variety of sectors.

The scheme will be co-ordinated through a WECA-led Redundancy Response Group, which brings together government departments, employers, unions, local councils and education and training providers and is available to any business in the region.

West of England Mayor Tim Bowles said: “Our economic recovery depends on protecting the jobs of our excellent, skilled people in the West of England, and helping our businesses seize the opportunity to build back better.

“I want to make sure we keep our amazing and talented workforce in the region and help our businesses survive and thrive, so that’s why I’m launching a first of its kind regional talent retention scheme.

“The platform will match people’s skills with employers that want to grow and make sure that the whole West of England can emerge strongly from the pandemic.” 

The Talent Retention Platform will help businesses that feel they need to make staff redundant understand the other options that are available to them and support business survival and growth. This will be achieved by ensuring that in the West of England:

• Employers can source the workforce they need
• Employees will be able to recognise their transferable skills and apply them to a range of existing and emerging employment opportunities
• People will remain employed in their existing sector where possible
• West of England workers will remain employed in the region

Bath-based business, Cognisess, has developed The Talent Retention platform. Company chief executive, Chris Butt said: “This new platform will support people in the West of England to find the opportunities that best suit their skills, values and experience. Covid-19, home working and the changing nature of jobs has meant a rethink in the way companies match people to jobs. The CV is not fit for purpose – this new platform will allow jobseekers to present themselves in a more dynamic way, setting out their attributes for business.”

More details will be publicised in April.

The Talent Retention Platform is a key part of the West of England Recovery Taskforce’s regional action plan to protect and secure jobs, creating opportunities for all residents to share in the recovery. As part of this, WECA’s Together West of England campaign is connecting businesses with the support and guidance they need to adapt, build resilience and prepare for the future, as well as helping residents to access new skills, training and employment opportunities.

Through the West of England Growth Hub (www.wearegrowth.co.uk) businesses can access free information and guidance on managing workforce pressures to avoid or minimise redundancies. Advice is also provided to support employees through the redundancy process and help people to secure alternative employment or training.

Businesses of any size in the West of England can access the support that includes workforce planning, HR advice and guidance, employability support, training and skills development and coaching.