Action for skills

The Government Office for the South East (GOSE) provided the LSC with ESF funds of £13 million to be made available through a regional co-financed programme delivered across the south-east.

The ESF activities proposed by the LSC reflect the strategic objectives of the South East Regional Development Plan and the Council's key priorities for 2006/7. They focus on:

• young people aged 14-19 who are not in education, employment or training (NEET)
• demand-led initiatives to support companies (especially SMEs) in the health and social care sector
• Action for Communities initiatives to assess and develop the capacity and skills of the voluntary and community sector
• provision to help individuals into jobs and lifelong learning, with particular emphasis on offenders, older workers, people with learning difficulties and disabilities and those who lack a level 2 qualification.

The funding will be available for the period 1 July 2006 to 31 July 2008.

The Action for Skills programme was launched at Sandown Park on 30 March 2006 with a tendering guidance event. A list of successful bidders was published in June 2006.