£14m available to boost workforce skills

Initiatives to boost workforce skills and help young people into education, employment or training in the Marches are being urged to bid for more than £14m of EU funding.

Tenders for European Social Funding (ESF) opened as part of the Education and Skills Funding Agency 2019-2021 Opt-in programme giving organisations the opportunity to bid for funding to deliver services across the Marches with applications closing later this month.

More than £7.2m ESF is available for a contract to deliver skills support for the workforce in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin with £2.9m on offer in Herefordshire.
Over £1.5m ESF is out to tender for a contract to support young people aged 15 to 24 in Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin into education, employment or training, and a further £682,000 to support young people in Herefordshire.
Organisations interested in managing a community grant scheme aimed at helping people overcome barriers to employment can bid to manage £1.7m ESF funding for Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin and £688,000 for Herefordshire.

Kathryn Jones, Partnership Manager for the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “Creating a pool of well skilled workers is vital for a sustainable and strong economy.

“ESF has already made a real difference to improving workforce skills and we hope these new funding opportunities will generate some innovative projects to support more people into work across the Marches, help people develop the skills they need to progress their careers and support the growth of our local businesses.”

Tenders for the Skills Support or the Workforce and Support for Young People applications close on September 17 2018 and the tender for the Management of a Community Grant Scheme must be lodged by September 19 2018.

Tender documents are available by registering on the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) e-tendering portal Bravo. For further information about the ESF opportunities contact stephanie.jones@herefordshire.gov.uk