The Technical Assistance project is part-funded by European Social Funds (ESF) and provides support to prospective applicants and projects for ESF within Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership area. The support facilitates the development of a strong pipeline of projects for each Thematic Objective.
Solihull Council (SMBC) is leading on an ESF Technical Assistance (TA) project to support potential applicants. Whilst we are not able to assist in drafting applications or advise which projects will/will not be successful, the ESF TA leads and other local authorities and partners involved can provide some pointers, guidance, and technical support - up to the DWP Managing Authority decision stage for ESF applications.
The thematic groups for applications are:
- PA1 - Inclusive Labour Markets: Unemployment support; Young People Not in Education Employment or Training (NEETs); Active Inclusion; At risk of NEET support;
- PA2 - Skills for Growth: Skills Support for employees; Improving the labour market relevance of education and training systems;
There is a dedicated mailbox to help people develop ESF eligible projects or direct them to TA for the relevant thematic groups. The mailbox address is esif@solihull.gov.uk
The ESF Technical Assistance project team is comprised of representatives from:
- Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council (lead)
- Birmingham City Council
- Initiative for Social Entrepreneurs CIC
- Birmingham City University
- Community Action Wyre Forest
- West Midlands Growth Company
ESF Technical Assistance project operates from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2021.
The ESF Technical Assistance team provides:
- Information and promotion of calls or projects launched through the 2014-2020 ESF Programme in Greater Birmingham & Solihull area;
- Regular publications detailing funded ESF projects, and their lead contact details in the Greater Birmingham & Solihull area;
- Newsletters, emails, and social media posts - where we keep you updated about any new calls being released, events coming up and what this funding is achieving for our local residents and businesses;
- Workshops to provide potential applicants with technical skills to aid their ESF applications, such as bid-writing; collaborative working; results and outputs;
- Thematic project lead working groups to aid collaborative working between applicants;
If you would like more information, please contact either:
- Gary Dixon, ESF Technical Assistance Support for GBSLEP gary.dixon@solihull.gov.uk
-
Maria Lopez, GBSLEP Employment & Skills Manager mlopez@solihull.gov.uk