Call to run a project to address employment barriers and basic skills needs (required by employers), such as IT, literacy and numeracy in the GBSLEP area.

Details

This call is for the More Developed region (made up of Birmingham, Solihull, Redditch, Bromsgrove and Wyre Forest)

This call aims to address employment barriers and basic skills needs (required by employers), such as IT, literacy and numeracy and will be a key sector in enabling and driving economic growth in the GBSLEP area. This call activity will support unemployed people and encourage inactive residents to move closer to employment through participation training, work placement and volunteering, thereby increasing their confidence, skills and employability of participants empowering them to take full advantage of employment opportunities now and in the future.

Note activity to support young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) aged 16-29 has been targeted in the ESF call for the GBSLEP Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) and the ESF call for NEET and at risk of NEET. Support for young people in any proposals responding to this call should be therefore targeted at non-NEET.

The preference is to award large funding agreements covering a range of activities. Applicants can collaborate where appropriate to achieve synergy of operation and to avoid duplication across similar areas in the LEP geography.

The aim of this programme is to encourage the development and expansion of an appropriately skilled and work ready population that can take advantage of current and future employment and business opportunities.

For more information, download the call specification.

Location

The project must cover the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP area.

Value

Approximately £600,000 of ESF is available.

Deadlines

Full application deadline: 21 May 2020

Completion date

Projects must be completed no later than 3 years and 6 months after the proposed project start date, however the ESF Managing Authority reserves the right to vary the maximum duration in exceptional circumstances. All ESF Projects must be completed by 31st December 2023. Project costs cannot be incurred beyond this date.

Full Application Submission

To apply for funding under this call you will need to complete and submit your Full Application via the ECLAIMS IT System.

Please note: the ECLAIMS IT System can only be access from within the UK.

Full Applications submitted in the ECLAIMS IT System after the call closing date shown above and on the call specification will not be appraised.

If you do not already have access to the ECLAIMS IT system, please request an ‘ECLAIMS External Access Form’ by emailing [email protected]

You will need to request an External Access Form for each person in your organisation who requires access.

It is your responsibility to ensure you request and activate your ECLAIMS access in sufficient time. We strongly advise that you obtain and activate your ECLAIMS access at least 2 weeks prior to the advertised call closure date, if not sooner.

You are also advised to read the details in the call specification in order to produce an application that complies with the requirements and meets the needs set out in the ESF Operational Programme. All this information, the related guidance and the European Social Fund Operational Programme can be found from our homepage.

The published ESF Online Full Application Guidance also provides step-by-step advice on how to complete your Full Application using the ECLAIMS IT system. ESF Online Full Application Guidance.

Technical Support

If you encounter any technical difficulties completing or submitting your Full Application via the ECLAIMS IT system, please send an email to [email protected]

The technical support operating hours are Monday to Friday, from 8am to 6pm and it is your responsibility to ensure you seek and technical advice in sufficient time to complete and submit your Full Application before the published call closure date.

The Managing Authority reserves the right to reject applications which are incomplete or not submitted in a timely and compliant way.

Contact details

If you have any questions about the Call Specification or ESF Online Full Application Guidance, please contact [email protected]. This address should not be used to request technical support.

Published 27 February 2020 Contents