POWERS to decide where adult education funding will be spent in parts of the North-East have been devolved to a Mayor.

The Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) agreed a move to secure an indicative £30.5m per year in government funding for adult education across Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar & Cleveland and Stockton.

TVCA say devolution of the budget will allow the Mayor and cabinet to target funds where they are most needed, to provide skills training, help local people back to work and nurture home-grown talent.

More than 170 training providers that currently operate in the Tees Valley will have access to this budget.

Taking control of this funding will support the sustainability of further education and independent training providers while targeting those who do not have qualifications, according to TVCA

The Adult Education Budget will be devolved from central government from August 2019 to support learners aged 19 and over.

The move comes just weeks after Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen launched TeesValleyCareers.com, which aims to connect the 100,000 young people in the region to more than 1,000 businesses.

The website will help to ensure people in the area have the experience, skills, confidence and understanding they need to succeed while allowing employers to fill skills gaps and flourish.

Mr Houchen said: "From next year, we will control a £30m annual fund to improve post-19 education across the Tees Valley.

"We are only getting control of this fund because our region agreed to a directly-elected Mayor - this is yet another example of devolution working for our area.

“Thanks to this investment from central government, we will ensure learners can gain the skills that local businesses desperately need.

“For decades, some companies took the easy way out and brought in cheap labour to fill demand. But with this new fund, we will start investing in home-grown talent by re-training local people to fill our skills gap.

“Learners, employers and our entire region stand to benefit enormously from this decision.”

Councillor Christopher Akers-Belcher, TVCA cabinet lead for education, said: “This is another key plank in our strategy to make sure everybody in the Tees Valley has every chance to access high-quality learning, develop their skills and achieve their potential.

“Helping adults back into the worlds of education and work will have a real, demonstrable effect on the Tees Valley, not least the wellbeing of our residents.”

For more information on the scheme, visit www.teesvalleycareers.com.