Council working to reduce unemployment levels

How to reduce unemployment levels in Ashfield was up for discussion at the latest Ashfield Adult Skills Strategic Partnership meeting held at Ashfield District Council. 

Education and business leaders from across the District met last week as part of the Council’s partnership that aims to make sure that the skills and recruitment programmes in Ashfield meet the needs of businesses. 

The partnership is made up of representatives from the education, manufacturing, logistics, healthcare and construction industries as well as the Council, DWP, Citizen’s Advice, Inspire, and other voluntary organisations. 

This is just one way that Ashfield District Council is making sure there are good job vacancies, and the skilled people to fill them, across the District. The Council also has a secondary school network and works closely with colleges and universities to link training providers with businesses. 

Through their UK Shared Prosperity Fund money, the Council have worked with various organisations to deliver a range of training, workshops and programmes for unemployed people to develop key life skills such as confidence, budgeting, basic digital skills, and motivation to help them gain employment.

Cllr Matthew Relf, Executive Lead Member for Growth, Regeneration and Local Planning, said:

 “The Adult Skills Strategic Partnership is a key part of the Council’s vision to ensure we have a highly skilled future workforce in Ashfield, with the jobs available for them. We want every Ashfield resident to find the correct path for them to succeed, whether that’s in further education, vocational training or going straight into the working world and developing from there. These strategic meetings allow us to see what is going on across all sectors in Ashfield and help shape the approach.”

The previous meeting was held in October at Hucknall Business Hub and centred around new business growth in Ashfield.

Posted on 06 March 2026