NEWS: £2.48m invested to support people in West Yorkshire towards a better future
Over 1900 people living in West Yorkshire have been supported towards employment, education or training as part of a targeted initiative designed to assist people with more complex barriers to access work.
Community Grants, delivered by Groundwork, aimed to enhance core skills, reduce economic inactivity and bring individuals closer to employment, education, training and digital inclusion. The project received £2.48m from the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and was implemented through the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.
90 VCSE organisations were awarded funding for projects that supported unemployed, economically inactive and socially excluded individuals, and covered a diverse range of activities – including mental health and confidence building, digital skills, arts and crafts, ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages), job clubs, and environmental initiatives.
Projects were designed to ensure opportunities for those facing significant and complex barriers to employment, with 1348 participants reporting a reduction in structural barriers by the time the programme had concluded.
The programme saw even more key successes – with 840 participants increasing their basic skills in Maths, English, ESOL or digital skills, over 200 economically inactive and 56 unemployed participants engaging in job searching, nearly 600 participants entering education and training and 232 participants securing employment through the programme.
Groundwork has been delighted to work with so many partners – the Combined Authority, Local Authorities, Third Sector Infrastructure organisations and delivery groups – to deliver this programme. Our approach meant that the funding was not only effectively spent delivering participant benefit but also spent by organisations that are in daily contact with communities that struggle to access mainstream provision. In doing so we also delivered the added value of supporting many important frontline organisations at a time when accessing funding to do their vital work is ever more challenging.
Adrian Curtis, Executive Director at Groundwork Yorkshire
Notes to Editors
For more information please contact: media@groundwork.org.uk
About Groundwork
Groundwork is a federation of charities with a collective mission to take practical action to create a fair and green future in which people, places, and nature thrive. We support communities and businesses to build capacity and resilience in order to tackle hardship, achieve a just transition to net-zero and help nature recover in a way that reduces inequality and leads to healthier, happier lives for all: www.groundwork.org.uk
About Community Grants
The Community Grants project is being delivered by Groundwork UK and is funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). In West Yorkshire the West Yorkshire Combined Authority leads the implementation of the Fund as part of the Mayor’s ambition to make West Yorkshire the best place to work, learn and live.
About the UK Shared Prosperity Fund
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills. For more information, visit:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus
https://www.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/growing-the-economy/uk-shared-prosperity-fund/
