ESFA announces European Social Fund providers in 38 local enterprise partnership areas
ESF providers to develop skills in local communities and enable routes into employment
ESFA has announced 47 providers who have secured European Social Fund (ESF) funding. These providers will help to develop the skills of young people and adults in 38 local enterprise partnership areas, to make sure existing workforce skills are enhanced and young people can secure employment or progress to further education and training.
The 47 ESF funded providers secured a total of £315 million through a stringent procurement process, which adhered to EU rules of open, fair and competitive tendering, and was conducted in accordance with the Public Contract Regulations 2015.
The ESF helps people get better jobs and ensures fairer job opportunities for all EU citizens. It works by investing in Europe’s workers, young people and all those seeking a job.
From 1 April 2019 to 31 July 2021, the 47 ESF providers, spread across England, will work in local communities to increase participation in education, training and employment.
They will do this by developing the skills of potential and existing workforces and by supporting young people into education. The focus will be on those who find it hard to engage in education and training and in areas with higher rates of youth unemployment.
We invited bidders to tender against four opportunities in ESF investment priority areas:
- Access to employment for jobseekers and inactive people - including the long-term unemployed and people far from the labour market, through local employment initiatives and support for labour mobility
- Sustainable integration of young people into the labour market
- Active inclusion
- Equal access to lifelong learning for all age groups in formal, non-formal and informal settings to upgrade their knowledge, skills and competencies for the workforce, by promoting flexible pathways including careers guidance and validation of acquired competencies
More information about the individual projects will be available on the Contracts Finder shortly.
We will publish versions of the provider contracts in English and Polish, in line with ESF regulations, within the next couple of months.