East Midlands
The European Social Fund in the East Midlands helps to tackle the fact that although many parts have strong levels of employment, some communities feature deep-rooted unemployment and poverty. This is found in the major urban centres of Nottingham, Leicester, Derby, parts of Northampton and Corby, the former coalfield areas of Ashfield, Mansfield and Chesterfield, and some remoter rural areas on the Lincolnshire coast such as East Lindsey. Economic inclusion and labour market participation of young people, women, ethnic minorities and disabled people are below average.
Intergenerational unemployment in the former coalfields requires a different approach to the ethnically diverse, younger, transient population of inner city areas; ESF funding in the East Midlands allows flexibility to deliver according geographical variation and individual needs. In Chesterfield, the Response to Redundancy programme works with newly redundant participants to rebuild confidence and identify opportunities within local market conditions. Skills for Jobs in Nottingham works with those facing multiple barriers to employment, matching skills to local employers’ needs.
Over the last 20 years the decline in primary, utilities and manufacturing sectors has led to significant job losses. Skills development at intermediate and higher level is essential, yet matching the skills supply to the needs of employers is challenging. Demand for higher-level skills is lower than increased supply and parts of the East Midlands are over-reliant on low-value, low-skilled service and manufacturing activities. The area has a higher proportion of jobs in manufacturing than the UK average and lower employment in the service sector.
The proportion of the East Midlands workforce with no qualifications is higher than the average of England. The largest group in need of up-skilling is adults already in work. ESF in the East Midlands helped deliver the Driving the Future of Skills Train to Gain programme in Corby, which has successfully engaged employers in improving their workforce’s skills. At Uniq Foods, an increase in basic skills and qualifications led to improved productivity and maintained business competitiveness. UnionLearn and the local union worked with Rigid Containers to deliver level 1, 2 and 3 training to employees, by creating a learning environment within the workplace.
