Deadline: 2-Mar-21
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, and Rural Payments Agency announces a call to run a project providing help to employers to increase apprenticeships, intern and work experience uptake, as well as supporting skills development.
The Hub approach should be closely aligned to the GBSLEP Growth Hub.
Applicants should consider how they will:
- Provide employers with a first stop access point for skills support and advice, including how they will receive referrals from the GBSLEP Growth Hub, develop publicity campaigns and work with other partner organisations or projects;
- Meet the needs of individual employers or groups of employers through Operational Needs Analysis and Training Needs Analysis, and how they will work closely with the GBSLEP Growth Hub complement of Business Brokers and Sector Advisers;
- Employ and manage a team of skills or apprenticeship advisors/brokers who will provide a sector focussed, personalised and tailored package of support that will enhance business growth and performance including training packages and creating more apprenticeships.
Processes must include how the applicant intends to:
- Work with the Growth Hub advisers to provide a service that compliments and expands the support already in place;
- Implement a fair and equal referral model within the skills and apprenticeship brokerage processes;
- Secure added value and efficiency for employers through access to relevant funding support that meets their needs and those of their employees, promotes progression and is delivered by bringing different funding streams together in a seamless manner;
- Put in place governance arrangements for the Skills/Apprenticeship Hub Services and explain how these fit with or work alongside the GBSLEP Growth Hub;
- Outline the funds that can be used for, any limit on funding amounts and proposed employer contributions with skills or apprenticeship developments, as well as the application, approval, monitoring and evaluation procedures;
- Overcome logistical and financial challenges in order to deliver high quality advice and opportunities across the whole GBSLEP area;
- Collaborate with neighbouring LEP’s, to ensure a seamless referral of appropriate individuals and employers to similar support that is available in their LEP localities (outside the geography and remit of GBSLEP).
The outputs of the Skills for Growth and Apprenticeship Hub approach should include:
- Supporting employers to enable employees to gain and/or increase their skills, apprenticeships and qualifications;
- Increasing employers, particularly SME’s and micro businesses with employees in apprenticeships partaking in qualifications relevant to the labour market and GBSLEP’s key growth sectors and particularly at NVQ3+;
- Increasing Apprenticeship opportunities and knowledge of skills training, as well as work experience, internships, work placements and graduate placements (especially the number of SMEs engaged in these);
- Developing programmes and activities which link employers to sources of recruitment, training and skills provision, as well as providing a gateway and support mechanism for local individuals, unemployed and disadvantaged residents seeking access to and taking part in skills learning, jobs, apprenticeships, work experience, and internships with local employers;
- Promotion of apprenticeships and provision of advice and guidance to learners and employers;
- Provision of impartial advice and guidance to employers to enable them to understand their skills needs and the opportunities available for these needs to be met;
- Promotion of skills and apprenticeships particularly to address labour market diversity and local disadvantaged individuals in GBSLEP.
Funding Information
Approximately £1,200,000 of ESF is available.
Location: The project must cover the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP area.
Target Audience
Activities should be focused on support to SME and micro organisations as the primary target audience, however applicants should also provide information on the total number of participants expected to benefit from the project as a consequence of the ESF project support to SME organisations.
For more information, visit https://www.gov.uk/european-structural-investment-funds/growth-and-apprenticeship-hub-support-project-call-in-greater-birmingham-and-solihull-lep-oc12s20p1794