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Funding to help people find work
19/06/2009
More than 3,000 people are to benefit from £3 million of additional funding for training to help them find work.
The extra money, available through the Government's skills support package - ScotAction - will help to support individuals who have been made redundant or who are facing redundancy.
The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, Fiona Hyslop announced the European Social Fund money on a visit to the Access Partnership in Edinburgh, which helps unemployed people to upskill and find work.
Speaking at the Access Partnership in Edinburgh, the Education Secretary said:
"Supporting individuals and businesses facing hardship as a result of the current economic climate is a vital component of the Scottish Government's Economic Recovery Plan. The financial help provided through the Scottish Government's ScotAction package will be central to providing that support. This is all the more important as the unemployment stats, published earlier this week highlighted the scale of the challenge we all face.
"More individuals than ever before in Scotland will be able to benefit from Government support in training to find employment. This is a hugely flexible offer and surpasses the training offer for unemployed people south of the border. People will be able to get financial support of hundreds of pounds to thousands depending on what training is right for them.
"This Government fully recognises the pressures on people and fully understands the importance of ensuring people receive the support they need to get into work or back into work and contribute to Scotland's future economic success.
"During these difficult economic times we are determined to use every means available to us to ensure that individuals, businesses and organisations receive the help they need in dealing with these pressures.
"The action we have taken demonstrates that through our economic plan and all opportunities available to us the Scottish Government will do all we can to ensure Scotland's future economic recovery and growth.
"I have already announced support through ScotAction for employers to 'Adopt An Apprentice' and for additional apprentices in the Hospitality and Health and Social Care Sectors.
"Today's announcement of £2.97 million for an additional 3,150 Training for Work places represents ScotAction support for Training for Work.
"The action we take now will ensure that are workforce for the future are skilled so that they can contribute to Scotland's future economic success and help it recover from the current downturn."
The right skills training linked to the labour market for those who are unemployed is more essential than ever. Training for Work offers training that is flexible, suited to the needs of individuals and employers.
ScotAction combines the new and improved measures of skills-related economic recovery programme to help businesses and individuals know what financial help there is to help them through the recession. Employers and individuals tell us consistently that they want to know what help is available, how to access it and what financial support there is for it. ScotAction will be a vehicle for achieving this.
Early entry to TfW is available for disabled people, lone parents, SIMD postcode residents, refugees, ex-offenders, redundant workers, customers of Provider Led Pathways to Work (PLPTW) and customers requiring LEP PET (Local Employment Partnership Pre Employment Training.