News: New initiative to help local businesses engage with schools

Funding has been secured for a £2.7m project that will run across the Sheffield city region (SCR) to work with and support Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SME's) to engage with schools and inspire young people to prepare them for work.

Business Education Alliance aims to develop meaningful employer encounters for young people to engage in. It is based on the idea that young people are more likely to make successful transitions into employment if they have benefitted from work experience and other interactions with businesses during their schooling.

Work experience for pupils at secondary school was removed from the curriculum in 2012. Instead, schools have legal duties to ensure that all pupils at the school are provided with independent careers guidance, supported by "Gatsby" benchmarks. By the end of 2020, schools will also be required to offer every pupil at least seven "meaningful encounters" with employers over the course of their school career.

Councils in Barnsley, Rotherham, Sheffield and Derbyshire County, along with Doncaster Chamber, have worked together to secure around £1.5m of European Social Fund (ESF) money for the new project.

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The bid for the funding explained: "Businesses in Sheffield City Region report too many young people lack essential job readiness skills and experience of the world of work and appear to have limited access to quality careers guidance reflecting local labour market intelligence.

"However, the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (2014) showed less than a third (31%) of employers in SCR offer work experience, and just 18% offer any "work inspiration" activities such as mock interviews, school based talks or attendance at careers fairs."

Rotherham has taken the lead in recent years with high profile events such as LEAF and Get Up To Speed. Rotherham schools have also embraced the Enterprise Adviser Network.

The new Business Education Alliance is set to include activity such as employer engagement, brokerage, support for businesses and support for schools.

Funding could support business and enterprise mentor programmes and sector partnerships, and a range of school/employer events. SME's will be supported to delivery Gatsby recognised opportunities, careers and Intermediate Labour Market Information events, work placements, industry days, employability support and mentoring.

Matt Gladstone, executive director for place at Barnsley Council - the lead partner on the project, said: "We hope these opportunities will support our young people and provide them with more information and confidence. We want to help them make the right decisions to get ready for work, get into work and achieve their potential."

Images: The Careers & Enterprise Company

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News: £36m of EU funding for Sheffield city region projects

A number of projects to support businesses and help secure inward investment in the Sheffield city region (SCR) have been developed to utilise European funding, potentially the last such regional projects to start before Britain leaves the European Union (EU).

Structural funding from the EU is seen as integral to meeting the targets in the Local Enterprise Partnership's (LEP's) Growth Plan, which has set an ambitious target of creating 70,000 new jobs in the SCR by 2023.

The latest calls total £36.7m in EU funds and are asking for large scale projects in a number of areas including support for enterprise, supply chain development, research and innovation, inward investment and sustainable development. Funding is also available for projects to address skills issues and to support unemployed individuals at high risk of long-term unemployment.

Up to £2m is available for a project to promote the SCR area as a prime business location for foreign direct investment which is set to include marketing the region and providing aftercare support for inward investors.

Up to £2.4m is available for projects to increase entrepreneurship through outreach, advice and support. £3.6m is available for "revenue based proposals that seek to address SCR business's low propensity for innovation, stimulate demand and idea creation for innovation and productivity growth."

£2.2m is available to help strengthen the supply chain and ensure that local businesses can win more contracts whilst £1.4m is set aside to encourage a wider use of superfast broadband.

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The largest allocations are for low carbon projects and sustainable urban development. £7.1m is set to be used to back renewable fuels and energy projects with £8.4m for boosting the economy by using brownfield sites, addressing flood risk and improving the green infrastructure.

A skills hub is set to be created to complement existing support provided through the SCR Growth Hub and Skills Bank. The call states: "In order to implement an effective skills support infrastructure within SCR, the Combined Authority intends to deliver skills related support under a single, coordinated strategic framework and has identified the development of a bespoke local Skills Hub as the central pillar.

"The new Skills Hub will provide access to information, advice and guidance to businesses who require support on skills related matters across the Sheffield City Region."

With a new economic strategy focused on inclusion, the SCR is launching a project backed by £6m from the European Social Fund to address actual and perceived barriers to employment that individuals at risk of long term unemployment may face, for example confidence, health, housing, skills, debt and substance misuse.

With £1.6m allocated from the EU, a project is being funded to get more businesses working with local schools. The region wants to see "a mechanism for linking co-ordination of local employers with schools and young people to provide meaningful/inspirational experiences of the world of work, foster and encourage entrepreneurism and ensure young people can make informed education and career choices."

Chancellor Philip Hammond confirmed last year that the Government will guarantee EU funding for structural and investment fund projects, signed after the Autumn Statement and which continue after the UK has left the EU (possibly in 2019).

The Government recently confirmed that following the UK's departure from the EU, it will launch the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, using money returning from the EU to provide funding for economic development and local growth across the UK.

Sheffield city region website

Images: European Commission

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News: Further certainty on EU funding

European Union (EU) funded projects signed up to the point at which the UK departs the EU, will be fully funded, after the Chancellor extended previous guarantees.

Rothbiz reported following the historic referendum vote that a number of key regeneration and business support projects in the Sheffield city region (SCR) face a funding black hole if EU structural funding allocated to the region is not replaced.

Over €200m in EU funding was expected to be used to support businesses, inward investment, infrastructure, innovation and social inclusion in the SCR until 2020.

Chancellor Philip Hammond has confirmed that that the Government will guarantee EU funding for structural and investment fund projects, including agri-environment schemes, signed after the Autumn Statement and which continue after the UK has left the EU (possibly in 2019).

However, funding for projects will only be honoured by the government, if they are good value for money and are in line with domestic strategic priorities.

Each government department will take responsibility for the allocation of money to projects in line with these conditions and the wider rules on public spending.

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The Sheffield city region LEP's EU Structural Investment Fund Strategy was only updated this year and sets out how €203m (£175m) of funding would be used, based around six main priorities: supporting and creating new businesses; growing existing businesses; attracting incoming businesses; increasing exporting; developing the skills base and labour mobility; improving and enhancing infrastructure.

Six calls were made by the SCR via the Government last year in a bid to secure £17m in EU funds for support in relation to international trade, investment into Enterprise Zones and innovation capital. Calls to secure £12m have been made this year to support SME's, self-employment, renewable energy projects, and improve access to IT.

Through its devolution deals, the Combined Authority was pushing to be given Intermediate Body status and more control over how funding from the European Social Fund and European Regional Development Fund was spent.

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News: Developing entrepreneurial skills in the SCR

A new initiative has been launched to support adults in the Sheffield city region (SCR) by instilling confidence and developing entrepreneurial skills.

The programme is designed to tackle the root causes of poverty, promote social inclusion and drive local jobs and growth.

The project has received up to £546,300 of funding from through Building Better Opportunities, a programme jointly funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Big Lottery Fund.

This project is being delivered by the Doing Good Business Partnership throughout the SCR but will focus on the engagement of participants at a neighbourhood level. The partner organisations, which include the likes of Groundwork South Yorkshire, will bring a strong knowledge of the local area and issues that people face whilst trying to gain employment.

Lynne Hilson, operations manager at Sheffield Futures, said: "Doing Good Business promises to help the hardest to reach people to make the most of their skills and ambitions by receiving the maximum help and support they need. The funding announced today is an important step towards positive change for unemployed people in Sheffield city region."

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The two-year initiative focuses on community engagement, mentoring and coaching support. Participants aged 25 – 60, will be involved in activities to build confidence and establish entrepreneurial skills, as well as progressing in to further education. In the SCR, the rate of unemployment is 6.2%, which is above the national average for Great Britain (5.1%).

The programme will deliver specialist support for people with a disability, women, BAME groups, lone parents, carers and those who are over 50 years old.

The Department for Work and Pensions 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.

The SCR Local Enterprise Partnership put out a call earlier this year as it looked to allocate £1m in ESF under its Socially Inclusive Self Employment programme.

Sheffield Futures website
Groundwork South Yorkshire website

Images: Groundwork South Yorkshire

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