The government’s Education & Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) is offering grants to third sector and small organisations for projects that help people who are economically inactive or unemployed to move closer to the job market.
ESFA Community Training Grants of £5,000 and £20,000 aim to benefit those who are furthest away from the labour market, and start participants’ progress back to employment.
Applications for the Dorset region can be submitted until 16 December 2019. There are a number of priorities that applicants may consider when putting together their proposal. Whilst Dorset has low unemployment rates, there are still communities and groups who are far from the labour market.
In rural Dorset there are difficulties with access to employment and training as a result of the low population density. While within the urban areas of Dorset, such as Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch, there are hard to reach communities with residents who may be second or even third generation unemployed, and so face challenges in order to engage with training and jobs.
Groundwork London is delivering these Community Training Grants, funded by the Education and Skills funding Agency (ESFA) and the European Social Fund (ESF).
The Community Training Grants is a rolling scheme with applications being accepted up until early 2021 across different regions - the deadline for Dorset is Monday 16 December 2019.
For further information on the grants and how to apply please visit the following website: https://www.groundwork.org.uk/esfa-grants-dorset/