Nottingham City Council and partners across the region have announced a new range of support activities for unemployed residents, especially those facing personal or economic barriers to finding a job.
Called Way2Work, the three-year project, part-funded by the European Social Fund via D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, will support unemployed people who face multiple barriers to work.
The project will specifically help people without basic maths and language skills, single adult families, people from BAME communities, the over 50s, and people with disabilities or health conditions which have a long-term and significant impact on their daily lives.
European Structural & Investment Funds
The Way2Work project was recommended for £8.1m from the European Social Fund by the D2N2 European Structural & Investment Funds Committee (ESIF) and approved by the Department of Work & Pensions in December 2019.
In order to be eligible for part-funding from the European Social Fund, successful bids had to demonstrate that their scheme will help those who are disadvantaged but still relatively close to the labour market to tackle their barriers to work and enter and sustain employment.
The D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership is the private sector-led partnership of business, local authorities, skills and training providers, and community and voluntary services which promotes economic growth across Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.
Its work is partly funded by a European Union allocation of around €250million in European Structural and Investment Funds (or ESIF). This is made up of the European Social Fund (ESF), European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) funding streams.
Way2Work
The Way2Work partnership led by Nottingham City Council will bring together upper-tier local authorities in D2N2 (Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Derby and Derbyshire), as well as community organisations and training providers. It will create an integrated network of employment support which will help to meet the recruitment needs of local employers.
TheWay2Work programme will begin in March 2020 and run until March 2023. It will be delivered by twelve of partner organisations across the region:
- Academy Transformation Trust
- Community Action Derby
- Community Training Portal
- Derby City Council
- Derby College
- East Midlands Chamber of Commerce
- Futures
- Nottingham City Council – Children’s Integrated Services
- Nottingham City Council – Economic Development
- Nottingham City Homes
- Nottinghamshire County Council (trading as Inspire)
- Princes Trust
Way2Work will also provide job seekers and inactive residents with access to training which is specific to their individual needs and which will increase their current employment prospects. A broad range of support is on offer including work preparation and job application advice plus information about self-employment, work experience opportunities and apprenticeships, basic skills, digital skills and functional English to support eligible non-English speakers.
Way2Work also offers life-skills support including financial advice and financial support for travel and childcare, route and travel planning alongside financial support for bus passes to help individuals sustain their job or training placement once it starts.
Councillor Neghat Khan, Portfolio Holder for Early Years, Education and Employment; “Way2Work is a great example of the type of collaboration which Nottingham City Council and the Nottingham Jobs Hub are well known for and will enable partners to provide job seekers and employers the services which are right for them.
“The success of this project relies on it being able to provide one-to-one tailored support and mentoring delivered in convenient venues, including job centres and libraries. By doing this it will give participants a range of opportunities to recognise their skills, competences and attitudes to work and training and enable them to make a full contribution to the local labour market, not just in Nottingham but across the region.”
