27 January 2020

ESFA Community Training Grants Available!

ESFA Community Training Grants Available!

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.

To assist those looking to make applications the ESFA are running free application workshops designed to help you with advice and guidance on how to write a successful application. 

The workshop local to Dorset will be held on 4 February, Bournemouth Library, Dorset, 14:00 -16:00.

Applications for this fourth round of applications can be submitted until 9am 24 February 2020. 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. Applicants must be from either third sector organisations or small organisations (less than 49 employees), and have an annual turnover of less than €10 million euros.

The deadline for your application to be considered in our fourth round of decision meetings is 9am, 24th February 2020. However, if you submit your application by the 17th February 2020, we will be able to provide you with feedback on your application with enough time to make amendments before the deadline.

For further information on the grants and how to apply please visit the following website: https://www.groundwork.org.uk/esfa-grants-dorset/