Guidance

AIR 2020 Citizens Summary

Published 26 October 2021

Applies to England

Programme overview

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the European Commission formally agreed and adopted the European Social Fund (ESF) Operational Programme (OP) in September 2015. It was launched by the then Minister for Employment in January 2016.

As part of the Government’s overall growth activity, the ESF Programme has been supporting projects across the country since 2015 and, through the EU Exit agreement, will continue to do so until 31 December 2023. A UK funded Shared Prosperity Fund Programme will be introduced in April 2022.

ESF is delivered through a range of partners, including other Government Departments and bodies across public, private and third party sectors.

EU funds require co-financing from either public or private sources, therefore, ESF in England works in part with four national Co-Financing Organisations (CFOs):

• Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)

• Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA)

• His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS)

• National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF) previously known as Big Lottery Fund (BLF), through their Building Better Opportunities programme (BBO).

• DWP acts as the Managing Authority for the Programme.

The objective of the Programme is to contribute to local growth by improving social inclusion, education, training and equality for those furthest from the Labour Market and has an ultimate aim to bring these individuals in, or closer, to sustainable and continued employment, with additional targeted focus on certain vulnerable groups.

ESF supports efforts to reduce employment gaps, for instance by ensuring an appropriate proportion of participants are: Women; Over 50; Disabled; or from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities, and specific activities are delivered to tackle youth unemployment in areas where the rate is particularly high. This has been especially important in providing targeted recovery from the impacts of COVID-19.

The Programme also aims to develop a skilled and adaptable workforce which, in turn, increases productivity. By improving access to lifelong learning for all, ESF supports a range of activities; from helping people tackle basic skills needs, through to developing intermediate and higher levels skills that they and their employers need.

Over its duration, the total value of the Programme is €3.49bn.

At the end of December 2020, £2.59bn (€2.89 billion) of funding had been allocated to 542 contracts, with £1.37bn (€1.57billion) claims paid to projects with 1,032,095 participants helped so far.

*These values are provided for comparison against the Programme value purposes only and have been calculated using an Exchange Rate of 0.87. Allocation is not calculated and claims are not paid in Euros.

542 Contract

+

£137bn Claims paid

=

1,339,612 Participants Helped so far

ESF is only used where there is a demonstrable need, such as where there are gaps in the Labour Market provision provided by DWP or government, or where ESF will add value to, and not duplicate, existing nationally funded provision to support employment and skills.

There are 38* Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) areas where ESF England is delivered. The ‘Categories of Region’ (CoRs) indicate the level of ESF funding provided by the European Union (EU), with the remainder being made up of ‘Match’ funding from either public or private sources.

*there were originally 39 LEP areas, but Northamptonshire merged with South East Midlands

Less Developed – up to 80% EU funding Transitional – up to 60% EU funding More Developed – up to 50% EU funding

Each LEP area has developed strategies to ensure funding focuses on local needs. These strategies inform the Calls for funding in each area that are published on GOV.UK by the Managing Authority and include all ESF CFO tendering opportunities.

Implemented Activities

The programme contributes to policies to add growth to the employment rate by increasing the numbers of unemployed and economically inactive people entering sustainable jobs.

The types of activities currently being delivered with the aid of ESF funding are detailed below:

• Young people and the Youth Employment Initiative

ESF is being used to fund support which prepares young people for working life, in particular by reducing the number of young people not in education, employment or training (known as NEET) or at risk of becoming NEET.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, youth unemployment had been at a record low, however, ESF interventions for young people are now more critical than ever to help boost their skills or to prepare them for work during these challenging times for Society.

In addition, ESF aims to contribute to continuing efforts to reduce child poverty in low income households.

The Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) provides a separate European funding source that complements ESF funding in areas where there is higher youth unemployment.

These YEI Projects demonstrate the positive impact ESF is having in supporting young people from some of the most disadvantaged backgrounds to overcome multiple barriers, gain new skills and move in, or closer, to employment and training.

• Support to improve mental health

Poor mental health can often be a barrier to successful employment due to the day-to-day side effects of a condition and, by using a variety of approaches and activities that engage and motivate people, ESF funded projects are helping to tackle the impacts of mental health issues. They also recognise the impact of isolation for people living in rural parts of the country and aim to help participants manage and overcome this.

• People with disabilities and health conditions

The effects of a disability or health condition can make it harder for a person to find and sustain employment. ESF projects have tailored support to help people address these additional barriers to finding work and to support them in entering the labour market.

• Community level funding opportunities

ESF supports projects that are working directly within local communities to meet their specific needs, often working with marginalised and socially excluded people. By doing so, this approach enables small, locally based organisations to gain access to funding to provide support in the areas they are familiar with.

• Individualised job preparation support

Individualised support, which includes providing one-to-one mentoring or information, advice and guidance, is used effectively to help people navigate the services already available to them, and to attain or improve job-searching skills, like interview techniques and CV writing.

This type of personalised support helps to remove barriers to gaining employment or accessing other programmes funded by the UK Government and can continue to help sustain employment after that person has been hired.

• Upskilling unemployed people

Sometimes an unemployed person’s barrier to work is a lack of relevant skills for the workplace, for example, they might lack digital skills, basic English and Maths qualifications, or more industry-specific skills needed for the local area. ESF projects are providing this type of upskilling support to remove potential employment barriers for by people.

• Upskilling the Workforce and Working with Employers

Across England, ESF projects are working with local industry and employers to determine skills gaps and offer provision to fill these gaps with potential new recruits, in addition to providing support to upskill existing employees.

As a result of such projects, Employers are able to highlight where opportunities exist for employment and work experience, and so successfully bring together the needs of the local economy with the local workforce who are able to fill those gaps.

This support increases the knowledge and capabilities of the workforce which, in turn, encourages business growth.

• Working with Partners

ESF can add value to local areas (in addition to any mainstream support) by bringing together partners and services, which will enable project participants to access valuable advice and support that meets their needs. Partners and agencies are working with participants to gain new skills and confidence to move them closer to, and into, employment.

• Innovative approaches

ESF funding provides the opportunity for projects to deliver support using new and different approaches, which may be in the form of maximising technology to engage and train participants, or developing innovative solutions to solving problems and improving services.

Case Studies – Good Practice

Skills 4 Growth, Coventry & Warwickshire (£2.3m EU Funding)

Is a small and medium enterprise (SME) business support project that delivers accredited and non-accredited skills training ranging from leadership and management, through to technical and soft skills.

Coventry City Council run the project in partnership with public and private sector partners, including specialist training providers. It supports businesses in the local priority sectors of Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering, including Health and Social Work and Transportation and Storage.

The project will support over 1,700 participants to achieve basic skills qualifications.

In response to COVID-19, all support is currently being delivered by telephone or videoconferencing.

By 30 September 2020, 901 individuals from all 33 London boroughs had registered with the project. 62% have accessed training opportunities, with 106 leaving the project to undertake training or education, and 52% have been supported to actively job search. 16% have been supported to take on a volunteering role. So far, 21% (186 people) have moved into employment.

Moving on Tyne & Wear - North East (£6.6m EU Funding)

Helps people in Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland and North and South Tyneside who are unemployed and have health barriers to move towards and into training, education, employment or job search.

The project is co-funded by The National Lottery Community Fund. Its lead partner is Mental Health Concern, which works with around 10 public, private and third sector partners. One-on-one support is provided to people who are aged 18 or over, unemployed and have physical or mental health issues, additional learning needs, or disabilities.

From mid-March 2020, the project moved to remote working as a response to COVID-19. The navigators moved to using digital platforms to continue to provide core employability support. Navigators have also helped participants manage anxiety, increase resilience and support emotional wellbeing.

Skills Support for the Workforce (SSW) and Skills Support for Redundancy (SSR), Swindon and Wiltshire (£16.4m EU Funding)

The SSW Programme is co-funded by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) and delivered by Serco, in partnership with Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership, to develop and upskill employees within small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Priorities are to provide support for lower skilled people to progress into apprenticeships and lifelong learning; improving the digital capability of the workforce, and providing leadership and management training. SSW provides recognised accredited qualifications and bespoke training courses to enhance employees’ skills, increase the competitiveness of businesses and boost the local economy.

Serco also run the ESFA co-funded SSR project, which supports employers and individuals affected by redundancy. For employers making hard decisions about staff redundancy, the SSR Programme ensures their employees can access bespoke training, careers guidance and support to find suitable employment.

Individuals facing redundancy or made redundant within the last 3 months can access funded skills training, retraining and careers guidance to help them get back into employment.

Up to October 2020, this project had supported around 928 participants, but the project’s target is to help 6,321 participants.

Communication

ESF is part of European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) which has a dedicated site at www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding.

This website:

• contains key programme documents, guidance and governance information; plus annual booklets featuring project case studies to publicise activities and achievements

• provides access to the bespoke, fully searchable ‘funding finder’ tool where project calls for the ESIF programme are located. A separate page provides access to funding opportunities from ESF CFOs

• hosts a searchable list of beneficiaries

• sets out branding and publicity requirements (including access to logos and poster templates) to support partners/projects in their delivery

England European Social Programme 2014-2020’ booklet - this was published in 2020 and can be found on GOV.UK.

Social media activity

You can follow ESIF activities @esif1420england.

ESIF also has a dedicated YouTube channel, ESIF YouTube channel, uploading films, including some highlights from successful projects.