ESF 2011-2013
Main priorities and issues
The four themes that will direct the regional priorities for 2011-2013 are:
- responding to the recession
- supporting recovery
- enterprise culture
- skills for a low carbon economy.
Under Priority 1, co-financing organisations (CFOs) will be expected to focus on increasing the number of unemployed participants, reflecting changing demand as unemployment rises and/or continues at a high level. Seasonal and casual work are also issues for the South West, with ESF available to work with those particularly affected by unstable and infrequent employment such as migrants and the poorly qualified.
There will be also be a focus on the 18-24 group who are unemployed, whilst at least 23% of Priority 1 funding will be ring fenced for work with those either in the 14-19 NEET group or those at risk of becoming so. Within this group there is an additional focus on migrant workers, ethnic minority groups, children in care and vulnerable and hard-to-reach young people.
To reflect their high percentage of the population but declining labour market activity, older people are also a priority, and work to help redress the gender balance where either men or women are underrepresented will be a further element.
At least 70% of Priority 1 funding is intended to improve the employability and skills of unemployed and inactive people, especially disadvantaged groups such as disabled people, people with health conditions, lone parents, older workers, ethnic minorities and people with low or no qualifications.
There will also be up to 2.5% of ESF funding to be distributed as small grants to community groups.
Under Priority 2, the framework foresees a marked increase in activity focused on increasing the number of participants who secure Level 2 qualifications and, reacting to a rising demand, Level 3 qualifications.
Basic skills and training for those without Level 2 qualifications remain a priority for the South West, with specific support to be provided for numeracy and literacy, ESOL for migrant workers, and meeting the ICT needs of the workforce. There is also to be a focus on the potential for progression onto more advanced courses, both by signposting and ensuring that courses provided by ESF offer opportunities for progression. This may include elements of brokerage and trainer training.
Priority 2 is seen as having a particularly important role to play in developing a low carbon economy. Under the umbrella of the regional Green Recovery Plan, eight green economic recovery priorities have been identified, which ESF will be targeted towards. These are:
- domestic energy efficiency
- business resource efficiency advice
- financial support for marine technologies
- the potential of new nuclear energy
- community-based renewables
- environmental business sector support
- sustainable procurement
- low carbon vehicles.
In terms of priority participants, there is clear targeting on:
- people who do not possess a relevant qualification at Level 2 or 3
- people who need to update or upgrade their qualifications and skills at any level, particularly those affected by redundancy
- employees, business owners and managers in priority sectors and in receipt of ERDF or other business support
- employees of companies involved in green and low carbon technologies and products
- older workers (over 50) in order to update their qualifications and skills and prolong their working lives
- women who face redundancy or have been made redundant.
Funding allocations for 2011-2013
|
Total | Priority 1 | Priority 2 |
| 2007-2010 |
£59.8m |
£38.6m |
£21.2m |
| 2011-2013 |
£57.2m |
£37.5m |
£19.7m
|
- Priority 2 outputs have been revised following the decision to raise the proportion of investment at Level 3 to 40%, (up from 28%), with an associated reduction in basic skills and Level 2 targets to 30% each
CFOs
Projects featured on ESF-Works relevant to the above priorities
Links
South West Regional ESF Framework (Refresh)
