World of Work
20 Aug 2019
World of Work, which supports disadvantaged people needing employment, education or training, has secured up to £3.27 million from the European Social Fund (ESF).
The project started to deliver at the end of 2018 and is currently supporting over 130 registered participants in their journey towards the world of work in careers such as plant operations, track maintenance, traffic marshalling, domiciliary care, administration and customer services.
The funding has been used to invest in outreach activity, accredited training provision as well as basic skills. It has also enabled resources to be brought forward to deliver one to one, person-centred support providing access to jobs, training and work experience in a variety of key growth sectors.
The World of Work project is operated by Birmingham City Council. It has been developed using the experience and evidence of a dedicated team to deliver inclusive employment growth and widen participation. The project targets areas of high unemployment across Birmingham and Solihull, focusing on people with low basic skills or who may struggle to enter the workforce.
World of Work’s pre-employment training focuses on the region’s key sectors of growth, as identified by the Greater Birmingham & Solihull LEP. The sectors of focus include advanced manufacturing and engineering; low carbon and environmental technologies and services; health and social care; construction; creative industries; business, professional services and transport and logistics.
Programme Success
World of Work has made significant progress within the construction sector in particular. The project has developed a progression pathway with each participant, which includes individually tailored support, accredited training, work experience and job matching. This has helped participants to hit the ground running on some of the major projects in the city region.
Councillor Jayne Francis, Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Culture said:
"World of Work has made a real difference in helping local unemployed residents to begin their journey towards the workplace and to start to build sustainable careers. ESF support will enable us to continue working with employers and equip more people with the skills required by local companies – which will help to lower unemployment levels and grow the regional economy.”
European Social Fund
The project will receive up to £3,270,000 funding from the European Social Fund as part of the 2014-2020 European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme in England. The Department for Work and Pensions (and in London the intermediate body Greater London Authority) is the Managing Authority for the England European Social Fund programme. Established by the European Union, the European Social Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support skills development, employment and job creation, social inclusion and local community regenerations. For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding.
To find out more about the European Social Fund in the Greater Birmingham and Solihull area, please visit https://gbslep.co.uk/what-we-do/making-it-happen/european-funding.
