Welcome to ESF-Works

ESF-Works is the showcase and forum for policy and practice lessons from the 2007-2013 European Social Fund (ESF) programme in England. It is aimed at all professionals working in the areas of employment and skills, regardless of their European funding experience.

ESF-Works is about sharing the details of best practice, showcasing effective intervention, stimulating debate, and giving voice to participants at all levels.

ESF-Works is part-funded through ESF Technical Assistance. For more information about the ESF programme in England, see the national ESF web site.

Themes

Throughout 2009 and 2010, ESF-Works is focusing on certain key themes, highlighting the lessons and practices that ESF offers both to those who are building policy, and to those working at ground level. This began in autumn 2009 with ‘Older workers: responses for an aging workforce at a time of recession', which is linked to the TAEN Conference ‘How ESF can help older workers through the recession'. Other subjects to be covered in the coming months will include ‘ESF and climate change: the role of employment and training'.

What themes matter to you? Let us know the issues you would most like to see tackled: e-mail us at feedback@esf-works.com.

Project showcase

Projects from all regions of England are represented in the national project showcase, which highlights the value and lessons of ESF activities. From here you can access a wealth of resources, including project overviews and achievements; multimedia interviews with project managers, practitioners and participants; and products, including reports, learning materials and toolkits.

Interview

An interview with Chris Ball (CEO of TAEN), and Stephen Boon (managing consultant at Greater London Enterprise) took place on 12 November 2009 to discuss and debate the responses by employers and policy makers to ensure that older workers can fully participate in the labour market. You will be able to view this discussion soon after at ESF-Works.com.

Watch interview

To mark the launch of the site, ESF-Works interviewed Jim Knight MP, Minister for Employment and Welfare Reform. Users can download and view a complete video version and transcript of the interview in their own time.

Watch interview

Learning library

The learning library is a database of resources, based on Equal-Works but growing all the time. It includes reports, learning materials for tutors and learners, examples of publicity materials, project documents, and multimedia interviews with participants, practitioners and policy-makers. New items will be added to the library throughout 2009 and 2010.

Latest news

Extending Working Life - An interview with Christine Ashdown

Following the TAEN Conference on 24 November 2009, John Bell, the ESF-Works Policy Editor, interviewed Christine Ashdown from the Extending Working Life Division at the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). The interview includes an overview of the Government’s response to recession and its plan to return to full employment, as outlined in the White Paper, Building Britain's Recovery: Achieving Full Employment. Christine discusses the enhanced package of measures that she and her team are developing to support older workers, and is keen to hear from providers to explore ways of working together and to share experiences on delivery.

Buidling Britain's Recovery: A SLIM - Comment

"The DWP White Paper, Building Britain's Recovery: Achieving Full Employment, was published on 15^th December 2009. It restates the Government's response to the recession and signals the start of the programme to return to full employment. The White Paper sets out how the Government intends to combat the effects of the recession and continue towards its ambition of 80% employment." You can read a detailed analysis by SLIM here.

Dr Andrew Dean
Editor – South West Skills Newsletter

TAEN Conference interviews

John Bell, ESF-Works Policy Editor, interviewed academics, policy makers, and practitioners at the TAEN Conference in Birmingam, to get their views on issues affecting older workers. Visit the Themes homepage to watch these interesting insights.

Visit of Gwendolyne Orchard to BEST/QED project

Gwendolyne Orchard, the EU ESF desk officer within whose remit Yorkshire and the Humber falls, visited an ESF-funded project in Leeds on 11 November.

Interviews

Download an interview with Daniel Eardley, Elizabeth Horne and Shellen Wardle, three participants from the Working Links Middlesbrough project.

Download interviews with Linda Ellis and Philip Clayton , participants from TNG Warrington project.

Download an interview with Mhari Breen, project manager, who explains what the average participant gets out of the CCP course.

Read the latest project visits, including:

Interaction and feedback

Tell us how you want to see ESF-Works develop!

ESF-Works is a site for professional development and interaction. Your feedback is vital for us to make sure that the site is providing the information and resources you want and need. Send your views to feedback@esf-works.com - we particularly want to hear about the subjects you would like to see covered and the types of information you find most useful. We also want to hear if you have a particularly important lesson to share with the wider community.

Thank you