Bridging the Skills Gaps for Flood Resilience and Climate Readiness
The Blue Green Infrastructure Training Programme (formerly known as SCRIMP) , is part of the West Yorkshire Flood Innovation Programme (WYFLIP) and aims to address the pressing need for enhanced skills and capacities in flood risk management and climate resilience across Yorkshire.
The Board members of the WYFLIP secured £286,293 in levy funding from the Yorkshire Regional Flood and Coastal Committee (YRFCC). This funding serves to address emerging demands, mitigate associated risks, and ensure the continued management of the program for the next two years.
The project aims to address a critical capacity and skills gap risk to deliver flood reduction and resilience benefits in the region (Yorkshire-wide) – specifically FWMA Schedule 3 (SuDS) requirements and green skills associated with climate resilience and readiness. A training programme would be delivered by a team of leading flood and water research, innovation and skills development providers, hosted by water@leeds, at the University of Leeds, working in conjunction with partners across Yorkshire, facilitated through the WYFLIP and iCASP networks. The training programme will upskill those who have a flood risk management role to provide more resilient infrastructure, deliver projects which have a positive impact on the environment and address the challenges of climate change. This will ultimately result in greater support for businesses, landowners and economic benefits for the region and beyond.
Online Survey and Training Needs Analysis
This Training Needs Analysis will aid programme development. In addition to identifying training needs, the analysis will identify organisational specialisations and training suppliers. The project board and implementation group—University of Leeds, Environment Agency (EA), Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFAs) across Yorkshire, Yorkshire Water, and Yorkshire and Humber Climate Commission—will receive the Needs Analysis results. Based on the analysis, a skills and training programme will be created, managed, and implemented.
This survey is aimed at Flood Risk Management Agencies, their partners, and Yorkshire personnel at all levels to participate. Follow the link below to find the survey.
Next steps
The project team has met with individuals and small teams from partners across the region to collect more data about key training needs, strengths and weaknesses of existing skills audits and training, and details of important stakeholders to consult with so that an audit can be carried this year. A training programme will be developed based on the results of this audit. Once the skills audit is complete, a programme of work will be designed around priority training packages to benefit teams across the region. The training will be open to all Yorkshire Lead Local Flood Authorities and Yorkshire Regional Flood and Coastal Committee organisations, and wider partnerships via collaboration with catchment partnerships.