CLOSED: Under Employed/Minimum Hour Contracts Support in Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP (OC12S19P1495)

Call to run a project to provide additional support to address skills shortages or needs where there are gaps or specific barriers preventing individual progression and up-skilling for those in work in the GBSLEP area.

This call is now closed. Please do not submit an application for this call. The information provided on this page is for reference purposes only.

Details

This Call is to provide additional support to address skills shortages or needs where there are gaps or specific barriers preventing individual progression and up-skilling for those in work.

The Call seeks applications that will:

  • Contribute to the development of access to science and technology skills for people with multiple barriers to employment, potentially through creating a Centre of Excellence or Skills Academy in one of our key sectors, for example, Digital Technologies; Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering; Creative Industries; Construction; Life and Health Sciences; Low Carbon & Environmental Technologies & Services; Business, Professional and Financial Services.

  • Addressing wider participation issues by increasing the number employed people with multiple barriers gaining higher level skills in subjects which will help them to progress in employment and increase their earnings.

  • Support residents in work who may have barriers preventing them from raising their skills levels, including, those who consider themselves to have a disability, those with learning disabilities, those from ethnic minorities and those who are in a single adult household with dependent children. Assessment will be made of the skills and abilities that are needed to enable them to compete for higher level jobs. Up-skilling can be achieved through professional and technical education, including degree apprenticeships and/or the academic pathways.

  • Develop a culture of enterprise and entrepreneurialism for all but especially those under 25. This links to the retention of graduates and skills needed to support their sustainable employment in the LEP area. The provision of increased support for this group would impact positively on both enterprise rates and labour market skills levels locally.

  • Address the need for leadership and management and other higher skills training in sectors where the average skills levels of the workforce are low, especially in the LEP priority sectors.

  • Contribute to replacement and growth demand, particularly within key sectors such as Digital Technologies and Advanced Manufacturing. Strong international competition means that sustained growth relies on increased productivity and innovation, again needing higher level skills.

  • Contribute to the GBSLEP Priority Growth Sectors: Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering; Digital and Creative Industries; Life and Health Sciences; Low Carbon & Environmental Technologies & Services; Business, Professional and Financial Services; as well as sectors where there is significant job replacement demand or are key to our business needs: Health and Social Care, particularly adult care; Transport & logistics; Retail; Hospitality and Tourism; Construction & Infrastructure; Digital & Tech; Food & Drink; Emerging Technologies.

For more information, download the call specification.

Location

The project must cover the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP area.

Value

Approximately £1,000,000 of ESF is available.

Deadlines

Full application deadline: 30 October 2019

Completion date

Projects must be completed no later than 3 years and 6 months after the proposed project start date, however the ESF Managing Authority reserves the right to vary the maximum duration in exceptional circumstances. All ESF Projects must be completed by 31st December 2023. Project costs cannot be incurred beyond this date.

Full Application Submission

To apply for funding under this call you will need to complete and submit your Full Application via the ECLAIMS IT System.

Full Applications submitted in the ECLAIMS IT System after the call closing date shown above and on the call specification will not be appraised.

If you do not already have access to the ECLAIMS IT system, please request an ‘ECLAIMS External Access Form’ by emailing E.CLAIMSSUPPORT@dwp.gov.uk

You will need to request an External Access Form for each person in your organisation who requires access.

It is your responsibility to ensure you request and activate your ECLAIMS access in sufficient time. We strongly advise that you obtain and activate your ECLAIMS access at least 2 weeks prior to the advertised call closure date, if not sooner.

You are also advised to read the details in the call specification in order to produce an application that complies with the requirements and meets the needs set out in the ESF Operational Programme. All this information, the related guidance and the European Social Fund Operational Programme can be found from our homepage. The published ESF Online Full Application Guidance also provides step-by-step advice on how to complete your Full Application using the ECLAIMS IT system. ESF Online Full Application Guidance.

Technical Support

If you encounter any technical difficulties completing or submitting your Full Application via the ECLAIMS IT system, please send an email to E.CLAIMSSUPPORT@dwp.gov.uk

The technical support operating hours are Monday to Friday, from 8am to 6pm and it is your responsibility to ensure you seek and technical advice in sufficient time to complete and submit your Full Application before the published call closure date.

The Managing Authority reserves the right to reject applications which are incomplete or not submitted in a timely and compliant way.

Contact details

If you have any questions about the Call Specification or ESF Online Full Application Guidance, please contact esf.2014-2020@dwp.gov.uk. This address should not be used to request technical support.

Updates to this page

Published 7 August 2019
Last updated 5 November 2019 + show all updates
  1. Under Employed/Minimum Hour Contracts Support in Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP (OC12S19P1495) project call is now closed

  2. First published.