£6m fund aims to help people into work

BUT BIDS NEED TO BE IN QUICKLY TO NET CASH

A FUND of £6m is set to help people in Newcastle, North Tyneside and Newcastle get into work.

The North of Tyne Combined Authority on Thursday announced it would match the European Social Fund (ESF)’s offer of a £3m pot for schemes aimed at boosting employability in the region.

The authority offered the funding in the hope of encouraging organisations in the region, which offered education or training, to claim as-yet unspent European cash - but they have to get their bids in by October.

NTCA cabinet member for employability and inclusion Councillor Joyce McCarty said it was “time to take advantage” of the ESF fund. She said the matched cash would give an “opportunity” for smaller projects to reach the scale required by the European fund.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for organisations across our region,” Coun McCarty said.

“There is a lot of resource sitting in the Local Enterprise Partnership funds for the North East and we want that spent in our part of the region.

“This is a way of encouraging organisations across the three local authorities of Northumberland, Newcastle and North Tyneside to apply for some of that money, with matched funds.

“We have many organisations that wouldn’t dream of applying for this kind of money.

“I’m thinking in particular of voluntary sector organisations that would not have the resources themselves to match this fund.

“This gives them an opportunity.” The money will go to projects which help create “sustainable new jobs” as well as boosting skills for those already working.

Coun McCarty added: “It is about creating new jobs and training. It’s also about helping people who are in work currently but who might need special access to funding for training, or resources to support them in their work.

“We will provide the matched funds provided those who apply are helping us to deliver on the targets that we are setting.”

Successful bids to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will gain the European cash, which will then be matched pound-for-pound by the money from the combined authority’s European Social Fund. With the Brexit deadline looming, the Government last year pledged to continue funding all ESF projects approved in the 2014-2020 programme period in the event of a nodeal withdrawal.

Apply at www.northoftyne-ca.gov. uk/employability-and-skills-programme before October 3.