CLOSED: Growth & Apprenticeship Hub Support project call in Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP (OC12S20P1794)

Call to run a project providing help to employers to increase apprenticeships, intern and work experience uptake, as well as supporting skills development.

From:
Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (2018 to 2021), Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Rural Payments Agency
Published
16 December 2020
Last updated
3 March 2021 — See all updates
Fund state:
Closed
Type:
Learning and skills
Location:
West Midlands
Funding source:
European Social Fund
Closing date:
2 March 2021

This call is now closed. Do not submit an application for this call. The information provided on this page is for reference purposes only.

Details

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.

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. This information should be recorded in the additional IP2.2 Annex template available on GOV.UK and then uploaded into ECLAIMS as a supporting document as part of their online Full Application.

Performance of the ESF Project(s) will then include monitoring against the individual participant target (ESF Output Target O1) as well as the relevant SME Output and Result targets.

For more information, download the call specification.

Location

The project must cover the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP area.

Value

Approximately £1,200,000 of ESF is available.

Deadlines

Full application deadline: 02 March 2021

Completion date

Projects must be financially completed (i.e. have a proposed Financial Completion Date) no later than 31st December 2023; however, the Managing Authority reserves the right to vary the maximum duration in exceptional circumstances.

Full Application Submission

To apply for funding under this call you will need to complete and submit your Full Application via the ECLAIMS IT System.

Please note: the ECLAIMS IT System can only be access from within the UK.

Full Applications submitted in the ECLAIMS IT System after the call closing date shown above and on the call specification will not be appraised.

If you do not already have access to the ECLAIMS IT system, please request an ‘ECLAIMS External Access Form’ by emailing [email protected]

You will need to request an External Access Form for each person in your organisation who requires access.

It is your responsibility to ensure you request and activate your ECLAIMS access in sufficient time. We strongly advise that you obtain and activate your ECLAIMS access at least 2 weeks prior to the advertised call closure date, if not sooner.

You are also advised to read the details in the call specification in order to produce an application that complies with the requirements and meets the needs set out in the ESF Operational Programme. All this information, the related guidance and the European Social Fund Operational Programme can be found from our homepage.

The published ESF Online Full Application Guidance also provides step-by-step advice on how to complete your Full Application using the ECLAIMS IT system. ESF Online Full Application Guidance.

Technical Support

If you encounter any technical difficulties completing or submitting your Full Application via the ECLAIMS IT system, please send an email to [email protected]

The technical support operating hours are Monday to Friday, from 8am to 6pm and it is your responsibility to ensure you seek and technical advice in sufficient time to complete and submit your Full Application before the published call closure date.

The Managing Authority reserves the right to reject applications which are incomplete or not submitted in a timely and compliant way.

Contact details

If you have any questions about the Call Specification or ESF Online Full Application Guidance, please contact [email protected]. This address should not be used to request technical support.

Updates to this page

Published 16 December 2020
Last updated 3 March 2021 + show all updates

  1. Growth & Apprenticeship Hub Support project call in Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP (OC12S20P1794) project call is now closed.

  2. First published.

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