The Skills Bootcamps programme across Somerset and Dorset has celebrated another successful year, with hundreds of learners progressing into employment and training outcomes while significantly exceeding national performance targets.
During Wave 6 (April 2025 to March 2026), the programme was supported by a £4.75 million allocation and delivered through 14 training providers, offering 106 Skills Bootcamp cohorts across a diverse range of sectors including digital, engineering, health and social care, logistics, business, hospitality and early years education. Skills Bootcamps are developed in partnership with employers and training providers to ensure training reflects current workforce needs and emerging opportunities across the local economy. 
The initiative has supported a wide mix of learners and employers across the region. Approximately 138 businesses, many of them SMEs, have benefited from the programme through workforce development, recruitment support and progression opportunities for existing employees.
Performance throughout the year remained consistently high, with 828 learners starting training, 761 achieving completion milestones and 726 progressing into employment or other positive outcomes. The programme comfortably exceeded Department for Education targets and recorded its strongest performance to date
Wave 7 brings new funding model
The programme has now moved into Wave 7 (April 2026 to March 2027) under a new national arrangement following the transfer of Skills Bootcamps from the Department for Education to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Under the revised funding model, Somerset and Dorset received an allocation of £1.5 million, significantly lower than previous years and based on historic programme spend.
Interest from training providers remained exceptionally high, with 107 applications requesting a combined £13 million of funding. Following a rigorous assessment process aligned with employer-led Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) priorities, advisory boards selected 17 Skills Bootcamps in Somerset and 12 in Dorset, ensuring funding was targeted towards sectors experiencing the greatest skills shortages and workforce demand.
Wave 7 is being delivered through 14 training providers, offering 45 Skills Bootcamp cohorts across priority sectors including engineering, construction, digital technologies, artificial intelligence, health and social care, logistics, agritech and early years education.
Early indicators are encouraging. To date, providers have been allocated 352 learner places, with 42 starts, 33 Milestone 1 achievements, 17 Milestone 2 achievements, and 7 job outcomes as delivery continues.
Positive feedback from employers is already being received. R. Walker of Suttle Projects commented:
“We were genuinely impressed with the training delivery and the overall set up. The feedback from the guys on the course was just as positive. They spoke highly about the quality of the training and the range of equipment they are working with, and most importantly they are clearly enjoying the experience.”
Supporting Somerset’s Skills Priorities
Skills Bootcamps are playing an increasingly important role in delivering the priorities identified through the Somerset Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP). Many of the Wave 6 and Wave 7 Bootcamps directly support employer demand in areas including digital and AI capability, engineering, construction, health and social care, logistics and clean growth sectors.
The programme also provides flexible, employer-responsive training that helps address recruitment challenges, supports workforce development within SMEs, and improves employer engagement with the wider skills system. Through close alignment with local employer priorities, Skills Bootcamps are helping businesses access the skills they need to grow while enabling residents to progress into high-quality employment opportunities.
This links directly to LSIP priorities:
The continued success of the programme highlights the important role Skills Bootcamps play in helping employers address skills shortages, develop their workforce and access job-ready talent, while supporting residents to gain the skills needed for careers in Somerset and Dorset’s key growth sectors.
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