European Social Fund in England

Future - ESF Priorities for 2007-2013

In 2007–2013, ESF will invest £2 billion in England’s employment and skills strategies. This article looks at the priorities for spending the new money.

Plans are now underway to launch the 2007–2013 England ESF programme. Regional Skills Partnerships are developing regional ESF frameworks, and ESF Co-financing Organisations are being selected. It is expected that the first ESF Co-financing tendering rounds will be launched in the autumn, with new projects starting at the beginning of 2008.

The regional ESF frameworks and Co-financing rounds will focus on two priorities identified in the national programme:

• extending employment opportunities; and
• developing a skilled and adaptable workforce.

Each priority identifies key target groups and activities for ESF funding so as to add value to national and regional strategies. Given the substantial reduction in ESF funding for England from £4 billion in 2000–2006 to £2 billion in 2007–2013, the priorities are more sharply focused on disadvantaged and low skilled people than before.

Priority 1: Extending employment opportunities Priority 1 will target £1.2 billion of ESF on projects to extend employment opportunities in 2007–2013. These will tackle barriers to work faced by unemployed and inactive people, particularly disadvantaged groups such as:

• people with disabilities and health conditions (including people with mental health conditions and learning difficulties and disabilities);
• lone parents and other parents who face barriers to work;
• older workers aged 50 and over;
• people from ethnic minorities;
• people with no or low qualifications; and
• young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), or at risk of becoming NEET.

Priority 1 will support both employment and skills measures to help people improve their employability and enter jobs. This will include integrated support to provide pathways to employment involving, for example, life and basic skills, vocational training, job search and work preparation. Activities will address the specific needs of people who experience multiple disadvantage (for example older workers or lone parents with disabilities or health conditions).

Priority 1 will also help people entering jobs to sustain their employment and make progress at work. These activities will help people who need support to integrate into the workplace. Evaluations of previous ESF programmes suggest this support is most likely to be needed by people who are long-term unemployed or economically inactive, especially people with disabilities and health conditions and people from ethnic minorities. In these circumstances, training and other employment-related support tailored to individual needs may continue after people have started working.

Activities will also help to retain older workers and workers who have, or who develop, disabilities and health conditions. This will prevent them from becoming unemployed or inactive.

Full details of target groups and activities are in the programme proposal.

Priority 2: Developing a skilled and adaptable workforce Priority 2 will target £670 million of ESF on projects to develop a skilled and adaptable workforce in 2007–2013. It will focus on training:

• workers without basic skills;
• workers who do not have level 2 qualifications relevant to their current occupation; and
• men and women who want to enter non-traditional occupations.

ESF funding will be focused in particular on people who are least likely to receive training or who face disadvantage in the workplace.

Priority 2 will support training at level 3 where there is market failure, for example where there are skills shortages, in small and medium sized enterprises (up to 250 employees) and among women and people from minority ethnic communities where they are under-represented. Regional ESF frameworks will identify the sectors in which the programme will support training at level 3.

Providers will be encouraged to engage with employers to ensure that provision addresses current and forecast skills needs. Provision should both match the skills needs of business and enable individuals to make progress in the labour market.

There will be limited scope to support higher level activity including training trainers, and training for managers and workers in small enterprises (up to 50 employees) in leadership, management, enterprise and technical skills.

Convergence The Convergence area of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly will have separate employment and skills priorities. These are similar to the priorities for the rest of England, but contain some additional activities reflecting the higher intensity of funding for Convergence areas. In 2007–2013, about £50 million is available to tackle barriers to employment in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, and about £80 million to improve the skills of the local workforce.

Want to know more? The 2007–2013 England ESF programme proposal is at www.esf.gov.uk

Information for Existing Projects

Although the 2007–2013 programme will start to fund projects in early 2008, some projects under the 2000–2006 programme will continue until mid-2008. The two programmes will therefore overlap.

As there will be significantly less ESF funding available under the new programme, current projects should continue to make plans for when their ESF contracts finish. A Readiness Assessment Tool is available to help projects prepare succession or exit strategies, for example by investigating alternative sources of funding. It is at www.gos.gov.uk/gol/European_funding/