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Highlands & Islands ESF Programme

Priority 1: Increasing the workforce

Allocation ca. £1.5 million annually

Target groups:

• Hardest to reach, those with multiple deprivations, Young people at risk, High risk groups

Example Activities

• Work preparation, Confidence Building - Basic skills Training - Assistance with childcare

Priority 1: Increasing the workforce

Eligible activities

• Early engagement and identification of training needs with action plans setting out customised support
• Work preparation to build confidence and develop basic life and coping skills
• Basic skills development, including ICT, literacy, numeracy and English for speakers of other languages
• Vocational training, developing care skills, supported volunteering, job search advice, job tasters and work experience
• Intermediate labour market activity
• Initiatives to help raise awareness of the world of work, enterprise and entrepreneurship among young people, including work experience placements
• Innovative approaches to job brokerage/matching
• Initiatives to encourage employers to understand the needs of vulnerable groups in entering and remaining in the workforce
• Assistance with childcare and care for dependent persons, where caring responsibilities are a barrier to progressing into the labour market

Funding in this priority will be weighted towards projects from‘fragile’ areas within the region. Special emphasis will be placed on encouraging projects that are part of integrated packages of support put forward by partnerships, particularly Community Planning Partnerships

Priority 2: Investing in the workforce

Allocation ca. £2million annually

Enhancing skills

• Support for low skilled / low paid workers - Continuos professional development
• Vocational skills training

Addressing gender imbalances in the workforce

• Tailored training & mentoring programmes

Improving managerial skills

• Training for managerial, commercial & e-business skills - Encouraging start up from less represented groups

Capacity building of social enterprises

• managerial & business skills training for social enterprise staff

Priority 2: Investing in the workforce

Eligible activities

1. Support for the low paid/low-skilled and vulnerable groups;

• Initiatives to encourage the development of vocational skills
• Activities enabling disadvantaged young people and adults to enter apprenticeships, particularly those from groups not traditionally taking up this form of training
• Training/education in basic literacy, numeracy, basic ICT skills and English for speakers of other languages including migrant workers
• Activities to support the progression of disadvantaged young people & adults in employment with low level skills from foundation level up to SVQ level 3
• Updating qualifications and skills or re-training required to retain in the workforce older workers, or those who have acquired a disability, or those who face redundancy or have been made redundant
• Training for workers leading to SVQ level 2 and 3 qualifications
• Developing support for employees and employers to help employee retention and progress in the early months of employment, included supported and subsidised employment

2. Improving under-representation in the workforce by women, particularly for higher-skilled jobs;

• Training, mentoring and supporting men & women who want to enter occupations or sectors where their gender is under-represented, in order to tackle gender segregation and the pay gap

3. Addressing the managerial and entrepreneurial skills gap in the region

• Training to provide entrepreneurial, commercial, marketing, and e-skills for those in self-employment or managerial roles
• Initiatives to provide training for those wishing to start up or manage a business, particularly from under-represented groups such as women or individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds

4. Supporting skills upgrading in social enterprises

• Business skills required by workers in social enterprises to improve the sustainability of their organisations

Priority 3: Improving access to lifelong learning

Allocation ca. £1.5 million annually
Strategic Delivery Body: UHI

• Mainstreaming successfully piloted new approaches to lifelong learning & training
• Development of new training materials
• Development & piloting of new means of delivery
• Skills training for personnel dealing with target groups under Priority 1
• Workplace initiatives to improve access to lifelong learning

Priority 3: Improving access to lifelong learning

Target groups

• Personnel in public and private training/education bodies providing access to lifelong learning and support services to key client groups
• Voluntary sector/social economy organisations
• Agencies working with employers, particularly SMEs, including Learndirect Scotland/Scottish University for Industry
• The Scottish Qualifications Authority, schools, HE institutions, FE institutions and the Scottish Funding Council
• Community learning and development centres and local and community organisations, Professional bodies
  Employers, their representative bodies, The Scottish Trades Union Congress, trade unions, and workers organizations

Eligible activities

• Projects that develop and mainstream successfully tested innovative approaches to learning, particularly for the target groups listed under Priority 1
• Development of new training materials or course content to accommodate different cultural and skills backgrounds
• Creation and distribution of new online learning materials
• Projects that develop distance learning and make innovative use of ICT in training
• Skills training for personnel requiring specialist skills to address the employability needs of target groups listed under Priority 1
• Initiatives that support local learning access points
• Workplace initiatives and those linking learning and training for groups of companies or employees which would otherwise not participate in training activities.

Contact Details:

Inverness Office
Jubilee Lodge
12c Ness Walk
Inverness
IV3 5SQ

Tel: 01463 279500
Fax: 01463 279501

Email: hipp.general@hipp.org.uk

www.hipp.org.uk

A freephone number is also available for all new Programme enquiries:
0800 014 1008