Waterfront flats Leeds

The European Social Fund in Yorkshire and the Humber has focused on supporting the long-term unemployed, as well as those made redundant. ESF funding is supporting diverse local needs in the area.

Yorkshire and the Humber has undergone vast labour market changes over recent years. The area is traditionally known for coal-mining, textiles and steelworks, but the closure of coal pits, factories and foundries and the subsequent decline of traditional manufacturing industries, has resulted in a more varied economy.

Employment in Yorkshire and the Humber

Leeds, the area’s largest city, has become a centre for financial services companies. The surrounding urban areas are diverse with large ethnic minority communities, with tailored ESF provision available for particular local needs.

Other cities and towns, such as Bradford, Sheffield, Scunthorpe and Huddersfield, have all experienced decline in industrial jobs, which have not been replaced by alternatives, and unemployment is high.

Historic cities in the area include York and Wakefield, which benefit from their heritage, with increased numbers of visitors from other areas stimulating growth of the leisure and tourism sector.

Other large towns have seen a major decline in their traditional industries, such as:

  • fishing in Grimsby and Hull
  • textiles in Huddersfield
  • coal-mining in Doncaster (mining is also a lost industry in some large semi-rural areas).

All show high levels of poverty and deprivation.

Areas such as the North York Moors and the Yorkshire Dales, which has a remote rural heritage, have their own issues of depopulation and isolation.

Examples of ESF funding in Yorkshire and the Humber include the following:

  • 1st Step Engagement, West Yorkshire works with participants who have recently been made redundant.
  • The New Start at the QED Centre for Jobs and Training, Bradford supports participants who have recently arrived in the UK to adapt to working life, offering language support, job application advice (which could be very different from the approach taken in a participant’s country of origin), information technology (IT) support and identifying qualifications equivalent to those in their country of origin to help participants identify career options.