1. Introduction
ESF programme 2014 – 2020
Update and information event for stakeholders / partners

2. Introduction “Second half” of the ESF programme now to be procured
c. £29m still to commit by March 2019
Projects funded for up to 3 years
LEP has support team in place to help with development work
Pat Jackson
Francis Lee
Tim Smith
Roz Atherton
Helen Woollacott
David Brennan

3. Introduction Second half of the ESF programme – what's new/different ?
Co-financing via the ESFA or DWP not now an option – so activity will be procured via ‘open calls’
Match will need to be sourced locally and be eligible
Direct calls will mean projects will need to operate ‘actual costs’ similar to the New Leaf project.
Projects will need to develop teams who will need to know about ESF procurement/claims/audit requirements and expertise on ESF compliance.

4. Priority Axes
The uncommitted c£29m sits within the European Social Fund (ESF) allocation across two Priority Axes
Priority Axis (PA) 1 Inclusive Labour Markets (circa £13m) -aims to increase participation in the labour market and improve social inclusion and mobility.
Priority Axis (PA) 2 Skills for Growth (circa £16m) - aims to support skills for growth
The Priority Axes are further broken down into smaller activity areas known as Investment Priorities (IPs)

5. Investment Priorities
Investment Priority
Activity to be supported
ESF budget remaining
IP 1.1
Access to Employment for Jobseekers and Inactive People
£7.4m
IP 1.2
Sustainable Integration of Young People
£2.5m
IP 1.4
Active Inclusion
£2.9m
IP 2.1
Enhancing Equal Access to Lifelong Learning
£14.8m
IP 2.2
Improving the Labour Market Relevance of Education and Training Systems
£1.1m

6. for Jobseekers and Inactive People
Investment Priority 1.1
Access to Employment
for Jobseekers and Inactive People
Claimant Count (March 2018)
C East 3,440 + CWAC 3,960 + W’ton 3,165 = 10,565
(26% are aged 50+)
ESA WRAG “where work is feasible in the short to medium term” (Aug 2017)
C East 1,550 + CWAC 1,790 + W’ton 1,280 = 4,620
(47% of ESA claimants have “mental and behavioural disorders”)
Joined-up packages of support needed to identify and tackle various barriers
Must work in partnership to complement, not compete with, other provision,
including support for those not accessing Work and Health Programme
Alignment with C&W SEP key sectors and other identified recruitment need
Visible presence in local areas of deprivation; effective coverage for rural areas
Part of inward investment / new development offer
Support for those affected by redundancy

7. Sustainable Integration of Young People
Investment Priority 1.2
Sustainable Integration of Young People
This IP focuses on supporting young people – those aged years so the main focus is to find and engage these young people so they can benefit from the support on offer.
Activities that could be supported :
Provision of tailored support to young people who are NEET or at risk of NEET; i.e. those young who are disengaged from mainstream activity.
Supporting young people to acquire skills needed by our growth sector employers or to help them into self-employment.
Provide opportunities to link learning to work experience.
Provide support and a range of soft skills to overcome the barriers to engagement.

8. Investment Priority 1.4 Active Inclusion
This IP focuses on support that address activity where there are gaps in provision for disadvantaged groups.
Activities that could be supported :
Activity to tackle inactivity by helping disadvantaged groups overcome barriers and improve their employability and move towards employment.
Focus on workless households, including the potential to work through local authority partnerships delivering the extended Troubled Families programme.
Activity could work with employers to help integrate people with disabilities, ethnic minorities, and other disadvantaged groups, into the workplace.

9. Investment Priority 2.1 Skills for Growth
Groups of employers (by sector or geography) working together with training, skills development and education providers
Strong focus on STEM, digital skills and key sectors in the C&W SEP
Independent and impartial skills brokers to work alongside the Growth Hub and assist employers in articulating their aggregated demand for skills
Distance learning and blended learning
Skills for new technologies
Generic training packages that can be tailored to different businesses or sectors
Grant funding towards the cost of (primarily accredited) learning for employees
An information and communications hub that will develop and provide information on the C&W labour market and employers’ skills needs
Work with an employer-led board, which will establish the operational priorities in the context of the SEP and the LEP’s Employers’ Skills and Education Board

10. Improving the Labour Market Relevance
Investment Priority 2.2
Improving the Labour Market Relevance
of Education and Training Systems
Employer involvement in activities that showcase career pathways and progression opportunities
Inspiring activities delivered by employers, focusing on priority sectors and highlighting new technologies
Employer co-delivery of essential work skills for young people in schools and colleges
Skills development outside the normal environment for young people in years 10 to 13, including transition from school to T levels and Apprenticeships
Development of a network of Enterprise Advisers to act as the link between employers, schools, colleges and other education providers
Support for employers to develop and offer work experience, Apprenticeship and job opportunities
Employers working with schools, colleges and other providers to support the design and delivery of the curriculum
Establish an employer-led board to give strategic guidance, and 5 to 10 local employer-led operational steering groups

11. Timescales and Bidding Process
LEP inputs the “local priorities” section on the call template document
DWP publishes the calls, receives and assesses the applications
Calls will be published on
LEPs are awaiting information from DWP on timings
It is unlikely that all C&W calls will be launched at the same time
Typical bidding period is up to 12 weeks
Could be Outline then Full Application, or straight to Full Application –
case by case basis according to need, urgency, readiness etc
Assessment will be done by DWP (with some input from the LEP and ESIF Cttee)

12. Consortium Bids from the DWP call template –
“NOTE: LEP Leads should seek to maximise the ESF value of any new calls, either by joining together activities under the same IP or considering dual IP calls. This is to help manage the volume of ESF applications and subsequent projects, achieve economies of scale for projects and encourage consortia or other types of joined-up, partnership based bids.”
“Applications are encouraged from consortia or other similar types of partnership arrangements. In each such case the application must be submitted by a lead organisation on behalf of the partnership/consortia and the lead applicant must have the financial capacity to meet the required Due Diligence criteria.”

13. Group Discussion
Do the suggested activities and target groups align with the needs and demands of the area?
Sources of match funding?
Lessons learned from current projects?
Appropriate delivery models and partnership arrangements to maximise spend on project activity, and to avoid displacement or duplication?

14. Open Session
Networking and partnership arrangements