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Region of Learning and Creativity Strategy – Fulfilling Lives

West Yorkshire Combined Authority is committed to making West Yorkshire the best place to learn, work and live. By 2035, we will halve the number of residents without GCSE-equivalent skills, and by 2040 we aim to have the healthiest workforce in England - reducing inequality, creating good quality jobs and building a region where everyone can thrive.

Overview

Too many people across West Yorkshire face barriers to participating in learning and work. These barriers, including income, health, confidence, digital access and geography, limit residents’ ability to build skills, wellbeing and social connection. Many communities remain underrepresented in cultural participation, and access to quality learning spaces is uneven.

At the same time, people who face multiple barriers often struggle to progress into good work or re-enter the labour market. High levels of economic inactivity, a disability employment rate gap that is wider than the national average, lower pay than the national average, and high rates of underemployment point to some of the challenges facing our region.

The links between health, skills and employment support are not always joined up, leaving residents with needs that are not met. Ensuring that everyone can access creative, social and economic opportunities is essential for a fair and thriving region.

However, a ‘traditional’ path through learning and employment will not resonate with all residents and there is no one-size fits all. The Region of Learning and Creativity encourages and creates space for residents to explore their career options at all ages, recognising that some people benefit from trying multiple paths before landing in a career that feels right for them.

Furthermore, the Combined Authority and partners value the benefits that self-employment and entrepreneurship bring to the region. Self-employment can be more flexible for individuals whilst allowing innovative business ideas to be brought to life. 8% of West Yorkshire residents are self- employed, and the region is aiming to drive this number higher. The Local Growth Plan outlines the goal of creating and attracting 18,000 more businesses within our region – demonstrating our commitment to encouraging entrepreneurship.

Learning and creativity are central to fulfilling lives: they build confidence, belonging, expression and community pride. From early childhood to later life, the region must create opportunities that are equitable, and help people grow, participate and feel valued. This priority focuses on supporting people to access the cultural, social and economic opportunities that help them flourish throughout their lives.

How we are delivering change

Addressing health and well-being challenges to support more people to move into or closer to work

Population health is intertwined with all of the work of the Combined Authority and is key to delivering the five missions set out in the West Yorkshire Plan, notably happiness and prosperity. The region will not achieve inclusive economic growth and increased productivity without a healthy population to drive this. At the same time, inclusive economic growth can help support better population health.

The government has set out an increasing role for Strategic Authorities and Mayors in leadership of local health and care systems, delivering improvements in population health. Learning from our local authority partners and their longstanding role in public health, the Combined Authority is leading a strategic approach to improve population health through our policies and work programmes.

Increased collaboration with the VCSE sector, through a West Yorkshire VCSE Advisory Board and Local Authorities’ networks, will expand support for people who are furthest away from the labour market and at risk of leaving employment due to ill-health. Early pilots have focused on social prescribing – a non-clinical approach by health professionals to refer patients to non-medical support services to address holistic needs around mental health and reducing loneliness.

This is about more than pockets of intervention though; it is about regionally recognising the vital role the trusted VCSE sector plays in their communities and enabling them to be creative in the way they support people facing multiple challenges.

Creative Health activities contribute to the prevention of ill-health, promotion of healthy behaviours, management of long-term conditions and treatment and recovery across the life course. Activities such as music, arts, literature, cooking and gardening, delivered by Creative Health professionals, help to reduce health inequalities at a community level and keep people well for longer. The West Yorkshire Creative Health System will bring together expertise, research and best practice to expand the benefits to more people.

Culture, heritage and sport have immense potential as levers to level up West Yorkshire. They can create jobs, growth and attract investment. But equally important, they give us reasons to live and work in a place and foster local pride and coherence. They often inspire us to succeed and can be the medicine that improves our mental and physical wellbeing.

Opportunities to collaborate between the employment and skills sector and Culture, Heritage and Sport providers will increase participation and provide more opportunities for people to learn and grow. Examples of existing and developing opportunities include libraries for all primary schools in West Yorkshire and UNESCO Cities of Learning in Wakefield, Kirklees and Calderdale to promote inclusive learning opportunities.

Creative Health

The West Yorkshire Creative Health System launched in January 2026 and will help make creative and cultural activities a routine part of prevention and wellbeing support in local communities.

The programme will build on existing place-based creative health work to deliver long-term systems change that benefits thousands of local residents - particularly people experiencing health inequalities, those living with long-term conditions, and communities facing higher levels of deprivation.

Funded by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and coordinated by the National Creative Health Hub at the University of Huddersfield, the programme brings together partners from across West Yorkshire’s culture, health and VCSE sectors.

Key activities include: robust evidence and mapping of the impact of creative health activity in our region; brokering training and professional development for culture and clinical practitioners, sharing resources and best practice; developing and publishing a West Yorkshire Creative Health Strategy; codesigning programmes of Creative Health activity for investment; using this evidence to support ambitious funding bids for creative health activity in our region.

“While health inequalities continue to hold too many people back across our region, culture and creativity have the power to improve health and wellbeing, and bring our communities together" Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire

Transforming employment support to be high-quality, local and responsive to individuals

Employment support should be person-centred. It should be accessible, relational and designed around the needs and aspirations of the person seeking support – whether that’s finding employment or setting up their own business. Employment West Yorkshire will continue to provide a localised offer that is aspirational and reduces stigma often associated with employment support.

Over the next decade it will have a greater focus on economic inactivity and provide flexible support for unemployed people. Employment West Yorkshire is a successful local model and it will continue to be responsive to complementary services to ensure people can access joined up support.

Effective employment support can contribute to safer communities. Through collaboration with the Combined Authority’s police and crime function and the Violence Reduction Partnership, the Combined Authority has begun to explore how skills can contribute to safer communities supporting ex-offenders on release from prison.

We have also and piloted Out of Court Pathways that offer training as an alternative to entering the criminal justice system for low-level offences. These initiatives demonstrate the potential of skills as part of a wider system response, but there is more we can do to embed this approach.

The Fair Work Charter and Healthy Working Life programmes are creating incentives to support more people into good quality work. West Yorkshire partners will design new incentives to support more people into work.

This will include paid placement schemes targeted at specific cohorts in the labour market, support for employment costs and a range of support mechanisms for individuals to provide them with an opportunity to establish themselves in work and demonstrate their value to employers.

Accessing flexible local learning and progressing into good work

Every learning opportunity needs to help people progress in their lives, whether that is into further learning, employment, self-employment or better paid work. In defining the range of impacts learning can have, and collecting better data about peoples’ progress, we will continue to prioritise provision which has the biggest impact on progression and cease to fund low-impact provision.

The Adult Skills Plan will deliver meaningful change across West Yorkshire by improving access to adult learning and skills development, particularly for those facing disadvantage.

To achieve the Local Growth Plan ambition of halving the number of residents without a Level 2, the Combined Authority will strengthen pathways to Level 2 through maintaining investment in individual legal entitlements to English, maths, digital skills and first Level 2 qualifications. We will deliver targeted Employment Programmes at Level 1 and 2 focusing on a range of sectors. We will prioritise learning for those in work but on a low wage.

Ensuring everyone who wants one can access a Level 3 qualification will raise the education profile of West Yorkshire and better equip the region for inclusive growth. This means prioritising learning for people to get their first Level 3 qualification, and increased investment on skills for business programmes at Level 3.

We will focus on the sectors prioritised in Local Growth Plan. It also means engaging with the wider education and training system, ensuring people can access Level 3 learning through Advanced Learner Loans, Apprenticeships and the forthcoming Lifelong Learning Entitlement.

The Local Growth Plan set clear ambitions for mass transit and housing, and identified growth clusters for the region. Investment is needed in the skills that will realise these ambitions: construction and engineering skills will be pivotal to underpin the development of a mass transit system and build and retrofit houses.

Demand for skills is often driven by economic need, but equally important are skills to live and navigate the world around you. For example, financial literacy, digital literacy particularly including AI and language or communication skills. The Adult Skills Fund already recognises and supports a broad suite of skills courses. Deeper and further devolution would allow us to increase coordination of curriculum and skills programmes from an earlier age, preparing the next generation for life and work.

From digital skills to meaningful work, in the heart of the community

Going further, for everyone

A fairer Adult Skills allocation for West Yorkshire, increased to reflect. The region’s demographics and challenges. A greater ability to leverage and influence funding decisions, particularly where it increases access to Level 3 learning.
West Yorkshire has an ambition to have the healthiest workforce in England by 2040. There is a pivotal and supportive role for Mayors to foster collaboration and providing overarching leadership and accountability for the health and care system. To achieve this, we welcome increased resources for public health activity, and further collaboration with government to explore how Mayors can deliver health improvements for the people of West Yorkshire.
Long-term ambition and funding settlements are vital to ensure partners can provide consistent support and prioritise early intervention, to impact long-term health and wellbeing outcomes and progression to employment. For example, design of national Jobs and Careers service must be co-designed to meet local priorities and builds on good practice across West Yorkshire.

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