Cardiff and Vale College involved in million pound programme

The Cardiff Capital Region City Deal (CCR) has launched a £6.6 million programme of economic development, which it says will boost job creation and skills and unlock barriers to growth for businesses.

Jointly funded by CCR and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the two-year "Cluster Development and Growth Programme" will deliver targeted projects across the region, supporting activity within CCR’s priority sectors: Fintech, MedTech, Cybersecurity, Compound Semiconductors, and Creative Industries, along with CCR’s Net Zero ambitions.

The Cardiff Capital Region City Deal encompasses a group of local authorities in the South Wales area, including Newport, the Vale of Glamorgan, Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent, Torfaen, and Monmouthshire.

Contracts have been awarded to three delivery partners that will each manage one of three targeted projects; a Skills Programme, a series of Academic-Industry Partnerships, and a Business Growth Programme.

Cardiff and Vale College will lead a network of higher and further education, and specialist skills partners to deliver the Skills Programme.

The University of South Wales will lead the consortium for the Academic-Industry Partnership Programme and Grant Thornton LLP, alongside delivery partners Business in Focus.

Cardiff Metropolitan University School of Business will address scale-up support for enterprises in the Business Growth Programme.

Lis Burnett, leader of Vale of Glamorgan Council, and the portfolio lead for CCR’s Shared Prosperity operations has praised the teams that have come together in this venture.

Cllr Burnett said: “This Programme represents a new and ambitious development in the journey to unleash the region's potential in skills, innovation, and knowledge-based enterprises.

"The organisations that have come together to make this a reality have expertise and depth and I am looking forward to working with them as the Programme develops.”

It's exciting times, particularly for Cardiff and Vale College which recently announced investment in £100 million new state-of-the-art campuses.

There are exciting plans for Cardiff and Vale College in Barry (Image: Supplied)

Vale campus. The college is involved in a new economic growth programme (Image: Google Maps)

The development of the latest programme is supported by CCR’s Regional Business Council, and its chair, Nigel Griffiths who said: "The launch of these programmes is a watershed moment for our Region.

"By investing in our people and our businesses, we are creating the conditions for sustainable growth and prosperity.

"I am confident that these programmes will help us to build a stronger, more resilient, and more prosperous future for everyone.”

Head of innovation and clusters in CCR Gavin Powell added: “We are gearing up for a major shift in upskilling across our priority clusters – this reinforcement goes hand in hand with our strategy and vision of supporting good growth in the Region.”