Catalyst Pluss participants washing a carSome £60m is being invested in the 32 ITM projects funded under the current programme. Details of all ITM projects, including their locations, the work they are doing and their network of partners can be downloaded in the ITM Project Information Tool. The programme organised sessions during 2009 and 2010 to learn from each other and engage policy makers – read more in the ITM Thematic Report 2009 and ITM Thematic Report 2010. 2011 saw further events, and ESF-Works will be publishing the details as reports early in 2012. A seminar in 2010 also looked in detail at how evaluation could be used to capture the learning from ITM.

We also carry both in-depth case studies and short reviews on many individual ITM projects and the learning they have generated, for example:

  • Catalyst Pluss – establishing social enterprises in the South West to help disabled people make the transition to work
  • Clear About Carbon – helping Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly take a lead in the transition to a a low carbon economy
  • Age NC – addressing multiple barriers to employment for older workers in the North West
  • E3 – tackling the future for young people not in education, employment or training, and the recently redundant, head on in the East Midlands

The ITM programme contains six priority themes for ESF innovative and transnational activity. Descriptions of the themes, including indicative activities, are set out in the following documents and on the Innovation and Transnationality page of the ESF website.

Active Inclusion including:

  • inclusive labour market interventions
  • joining-up labour market interventions with other services to address barriers to work
  • adding value to the City Strategy and Working Neighbourhood Fund, and
  • worklessness and health.

Engaging with Employers including:

  • working with employers to improve the employability and skills of ESF target groups, and
  • working with employers to address skills needs in the workforce.

ICT and the Digital Divide including:

  • improving access to ICT skills
  • widening access to ICT to increase labour market participation
  • supporting ICT skills development, and
  • understanding employers' needs and upskilling the workforce in SMEs.

Demographic Change (Older Workers and Migration) including:

  • age management and older workers
  • improving access to care for elderly dependants of older workers
  • migration and integration, and
  • helping migrant workers and employers adapt to the labour market.

Skills for Climate Change and Sustainable Development including:

  • climate change and sustainable development
  • training in environmental and eco-friendly technologies
  • responding to the skills challenges of new processes in renewable energy
  • developing initiatives to address climate change and the environmental agenda, and
  • skills development for areas such as sustainable procurement and supply chains.

Social Enterprise including:

  • increasing employment opportunities for disadvantaged groups
  • developing leadership and management skills
  • training in new approaches to business growth e.g. social franchising, and
  • promoting and fostering careers in social enterprise.

The themes were developed by the ESF innovation, transnationality and mainstreaming subcommittee, drawing on the innovation sections of regional ESF frameworks. From this menu of six themes, regional ESF committees have selected those that are most appropriate to their regional priorities, and they have also set out the regional context behind their selection.