This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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European funding for Scottish projects
16/10/2006
A rural renewable energy project, an employability drive for disadvantaged youth and advanced training for logistics professionals are among the national projects to receive funding in the seventh round of the Objective 3 European Social Fund (ESF) 2000-2006 Programme.
Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Allan Wilson announced that over 100 national and regional projects will receive £11.3 million between them to promote economic development and social inclusion.
Allan Wilson said:
"I am pleased to announce that European funding will help support a further 104 important projects across Lowland and Upland Scotland.
"Over £11 million will go to benefit a diverse range of national and regional projects. Growing the economy is our key priority and investment like this in improving skills and ensuring equal opportunities for all to enter and progress in the labour market is essential to achieving that aim.
"This funding will support both local and national projects - such as the Transport Training Trust's project to develop higher-level skills for employees at over 70 small to medium sized enterprises during 2007.
"Other projects in this funding cycle will promote skills development and encourage lifelong learning to employees of all ages.
"With the next ESF programme on the horizon, we are working to ensure that we can continue to provide strong support so that individuals and businesses can reach their full potential."
Some of the national projects include:
- Rural Development Initiative's project Ignite: Scotland 07 has been awarded £32, 911. It will provide assistance to 40 businesses (60 individuals) considering diversification opportunities in the supply of renewable (woodfuel) energy.
The project will also deliver customised woodfuel training to 45 individuals in the wood supply chain through 18 training seminars, workshops and on-site visits, thereby enabling them to take advantage of the emerging opportunities afforded by biomass, including woodfuel, as a renewable energy generation resource. The project will work across all rural areas of Scotland. - The Prince's Trust Scotland has been awarded a grant of £381,042 to continue their project, Employability Skills for Disadvantaged Young People. This project aims to improve the employability, interpersonal and social skills of young unemployed people between the ages of 16 & 25.
The organisation will work with 439 young people during 2007, offering a range of personal development programmes and qualifications across several sectors. The project is delivered by the Princes Trust in partnership with a range of colleges, voluntary organisations and training providers across Scotland. - The Transport Training Trust's project, Developing Higher Levels of Competence in Scottish Distribution has been awarded £193,735 of European Social Fund to provide higher-level supervisory/technical level training opportunities for 350 individuals currently working in the logistics industry.
Beneficiaries will be trained to formal, higher-level national standards; SVQ Level 3 in Freight Traffic Management, the RTITB Masters Certificate of Competence, the DSA Instructors Certificate or Specialist Vehicle Operation. The project will be delivered across Scotland and beneficiaries will be employed mostly in SMEs, where there is a greater need for skills but development options are limited. More than 70 organisations are expected to benefit from the project during 2007. - A grant of £176,531 has been awarded to Tourist Board Training Ltd to train 425 beneficiaries employed in the tourism industry across the Lowland Scotland area. The project, Quality Customer Service Training in the Tourism Industry, will provide a mix of SVQ and a structured programme of short courses which will assist beneficiaries to attain the skills required to meet the needs of the market, enable the tourism businesses to reach Quality Assurance standards, grow the value of the tourism sector and create further employment opportunities across Scotland.
The project will work with 120 organisations, focusing on the areas identified as a high priority for the Lowland Scotland area within the Tourism Framework for Change including Angling, Sailing/Water Sports, Golf, Wildlife Tourism, National Park Welcome programmes, Ancestral Tourism, Children and Film Crews Welcome. - The Thistle Foundation has been awarded £123,098 to continue their project, HEC in Person Centred Approaches for Social Care Workers. This project is an innovative learning experience for people who work in supporting others to lead full and active lives within community settings. The content of the course reflects the difficult situations and dilemmas faced by support staff on a regular basis. This course combines academic learning and practical application to develop staff's abilities and to improve service delivery within this sector.
An essential component of the course is a system of support to encourage self-learning and remove barriers for individuals who may be new to higher education. The qualification is accredited by Queen Margaret University College and the delivery of the course is designed to support people who have had limited or negative experiences of formal education. By the end of the project 238 workers from 14 organisations across Scotland will have taken part in training and have gained a qualification.
European Structural Funds help work to reinforce and add value to a number of the Scottish Executive's key policies such as the Framework for Economic Development in Scotland, Workforce Plus - An Employability Framework for Scotland, Closing the Opportunity Gap, Regeneration Policy Statement, the NEET Strategy, More Choices More Chances, Smart Successful Scotland, and the Lifelong Learning Strategy.
Over £1.1 billion of European funding is available across all the European Structural Fund Programmes over the 2000-06 period. The Scottish Executive acts as the Managing Authority for all of the Programmes and a number of Community Initiatives.
This is the final Round of funding through the current Objective 3 ESF programme. Consultations on the future Scottish ERDF and ESF Programmes running from 2007 to 2013 will take place in the autumn of 2006.