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Impact of ESF
Funding For North Ayrshire Unemployed
 European funding to tackle social exclusion and develop the skills of people
across Scotland has been announced by Deputy Enterprise Minister and North
Ayrshire MSP Allan Wilson.
More than £25 million will be invested in innovative projects – including
several in North Ayrshire – which are designed to boost people’s employment
opportunities and strengthen the Scottish economy as a whole.
Mr Wilson said:
“We have long said that growing the economy is our top priority. This
funding will prove vital in helping achieve our goal. It will tackle social
exclusion through skills training and boost the employability of people
living in many of our communities. It will help businesses by equipping them
with a more skilled workforce and more able managers. What is good for our
communities is also good for business.
“These projects will give more people in North Ayrshire the opportunity to
take an active role in the labour market. In many cases it will equip people
with the skills they need to find – and keep – a job. For those already on
the career ladder, many of the projects will support management training,
and promote lifelong learning to help our business leaders of tomorrow.”
“Among the projects that will be supported in North Ayrshire are those that
will provide a new skills base for a number of employers recruiting locally
in the care, biotechnology, customer services and construction sectors all
of which are growing locally” said Mr Wilson.
These include
Four projects run by James Watt College North Ayrshire campus to increase
the employability of local people, including £40000 support funding to
improve skills for short-term unemployed people geared towards securing them
employment.
A further three vocational training project totalling £.125m and targeting
the 6-24months unemployed and offering participants the ability to undertake
a range of supported study options for the care industry, to support
Customer services programmes and Biotechnology training places.
The Cunninghame Housing Association Ltd will be awarded £95,892 to invest in
the Cunninghame Works Employment Initiative. This partnership project will
create employment opportunities for 24 people, whilst enhancing the local
environment for residents of Ardrossan and Dalry in North Ayrshire. The
project covers skills training and work experience in the landscaping and
construction industries, where skills shortages and increased demand for
services are being experienced in the North Ayrshire area.
NOTES:
1. The money is part of the 5th Round of the
Objective 3 programme of the European Social Fund and will be shared between
213 new projects. The full 5th Round funding (including continuation
projects) amounts to some £52.87 million for 433 Scottish projects.
2. Objective 3 is one of two programmes in Scotland funded through the
European Social Fund, which is one of the European Structural Funds. It is
worth €499 million (£341.5m in Oct 2004) over six years (2000-2006), and
supports work-related training, employability and lifelong learning across
Lowland Scotland.
3. The Objective 3 Programme is delivered by a Programme Management
Executive (Objective 3 Partnership (Scotland) Ltd) through a delegated
authority arrangement with the Scottish Executive. The wider Objective 3
Partnership includes LAs, LECs, FE/HE institutions, national training
organisations, the voluntary sector, the EOC, and social/economic partners.
There are over 1000 partner organisations and potential applicants to the
Programme.
4. Objective 3 funding of up to 45 per cent of total project costs is
granted on the basis of the applicant obtaining the remainder required to
run the project from other sources in the public and/or private sectors.
5. For further information about the Objective 3 Programme in Scotland go to
www.objective3.org
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