Cabinet received a report regarding a loan from Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to support the development and set-up costs of the Skillmakers service.  A loan of £103,500 was approved by the LEP and the report was seeking Cabinet approval for the council to be a guarantor of the LEP’s loan to Skillmakers.

The Mayor commented that Skillmakers was developed in response to businesses identifying that an issue had emerged around skills which were lacking in certain areas. 

Councillor Sharpe welcomed the Skillmakers service and explained how the council had worked with partners to ensure that the town had a strong local economy.  It was important to think about the future and how residents would have the opportunity to benefit from the new jobs which the council was hoping to attract to the area.  The council wanted Watford to be an economic centre in its own right and therefore had to be focussed on positive outcomes.  Skillmakers was a good project because it was about making sure there were opportunities for local people to have the skills to be able to benefit from new jobs and to up-skill themselves.  The project was being led by West Herts College with the benefit of a loan from Herts LEP.  Watford Borough Council should act as guarantor and the college had said it would not be drawing down the entirety of loan.  There had been some success already in attracting sponsorship to the project.

The Economic Development Officer explained that Skillmakers was about enabling businesses to access skills for future growth and for the local population to benefit.  Skillmakers was a unique scheme and Watford was leading it for South-West Herts.  Watford had a track record of being able to deliver projects which meant that the LEP had confidence in Watford.  Income streams had been identified to enable the college to repay the loan, so the risk was manageable.  There were large corporate businesses in Watford which were keen to be part of Skillmakers as it was good PR and built skills in their supply chains. Skillmakers would primarily target Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SME).

Cabinet welcomed the project as being a positive initiative.  In response to questions regarding sponsorship, the Economic Development Officer explained that there was a shift evolving away from sponsorship and towards donations, this varied between organisations.  Most businesses wanted to be associated with the project and donations could be between £2k-10k.  If financial support was made in the form of donations then there could be variances rather than with a sponsorship package which would have to be even across the board.  The financial model contained in appendix 1 of the report was evolving based on feedback.

The Managing Director commented that whilst the catchment area was SW Herts as a footprint, Skillmakers was a Watford led initiative.  On the Skillmakers board there were business leaders such as Freedom, Warner Brothers and Watford Community Housing Trust.  Given that Watford Borough Council was investing a significant amount there would be work done to track results to ensure that Watford residents benefited.

In response to a question about risk, the Managing Director explained that ultimately the council would be guarantor for the full amount.  However, the college had said it would not be using the full amount.  It had been agreed that there would be a financial review at the end of each financial year. 

Cabinet thanked the Economic Development Officer for her work on the project.

RESOLVED

That Cabinet approves the council’s position as guarantor of the LEP’s loan to Skillmakers.