European Social Fund
The European Social Fund (ESF) is designed to improve the skills of the workforce and to help people who have difficulties finding work. ESF provides additional investment to support and enhance Skills Funding Agency activity, to enable disadvantaged people to access and benefit from employment and skills opportunities.
How is European Social Fund spent?
In the current ESF programme running from 2007-13, the Skills Funding Agency is responsible for ESF learning provision to the 19+ age group. It also manages ESF provision as a shared service for the Young People’s Learning Agency (YPLA) and local authorities. A technical document supporting the shared service agreement details specific issues such as match funding, audit and publicity.
For adults, ESF will secure programmes for unemployed and economically inactive people, particularly providing support for those affected by the economic downturn, such as Response to Redundancy. ESF will also contribute additional and enhanced provision to mainstream programmes such as Apprenticeships.
For young people, ESF will support young people in jobs without training who are at risk of becoming 'not in education, employment or training' (NEET). This provision will enable them to gain skills and knowledge that will improve current and future employment or learning. ESF will also secure learning provision for specific groups of disadvantaged young people, particularly NEET, narrowing the attainment gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged young people.
Who can deliver European Social Fund provision?
The Skills Funding Agency will procure ESF funded learning provision using methods such as open and competitive tendering and negotiated funding. The Skills Funding Agency is a co-financing organisation for ESF in England. As a method of funding, co-financing distributes ESF funds directly to project providers without the need for the providers to use their own funds as match.
Tendering opportunities
The Skills Funding Agency introduced an Approved College and Training Organisations Register (ACTOR) in 2010. ACTOR is an on-line e-tendering application for the procurement of education and vocational training services and will be used to procure adult European Social Fund co-financed programmes (Priorities 1, 2, 4 and 5). Providers can find more detailed information about ACTOR and its use on the ACTOR page of this website.
For 14-19 ESF provision, the Skills Funding Agency acts on behalf of the Young People’s Leaning Agency (YPLA) to secure activity. A procurement round was launched in September 2010 and detail of successful providers will be available in due course. Detail of any future opportunities to deliver 14-19 ESF provision will be advertised via the Skills Funding Agency e-tendering portal. New providers need to register on the portal in order access the relevant documents.
Cross-cutting themes
European Union regulations require all co-financing organisations and projects to actively promote two specific cross-cutting themes during the ESF programme: gender equality and equal opportunities; and sustainable development. Requirements will form part of provider contracts with the Skills Funding Agency and specific guidance on these themes is available from the ESF in England website.
Research and evaluation
The Skills Funding Agency continually monitors performance of the ESF Programme performance in terms of outputs and results. Across the ESF Programme as a whole (not just Agency funding provision), the level of participation by women is lower than expected, for learning provision designed for people without work. The Agency has commissioned research to identify, collate and critically examine ESF provider strategies that proven to be successful in engaging with unemployed women. The research is complete and there are two reports available below.
Engaging unemployed women in ESF-funded training - Full report
Engaging unemployed women in ESF-funded training: successful approaches and case studies
Previous research on the 2000-06 Programme (as Learning and Skills Council) is also available.
A study on the perceived impacts of ESF funded learning on employability
State Aid
State Aid is the use of funding to provide support to an organisation, including free or subsidised training funded through ESF. Where this support is given to employed individuals, the European Commission sets a maximum financial limit to the level of support that organisations and businesses can receive in a three-year period. This helps to ensure that all companies have equal opportunities in the marketplace.
As a co-financing organisation for ESF, the Skills Funding Agency is bound by European law to comply with these limits and monitor the level of support it gives to individuals employed by small and medium sized enterprises. ESF providers should seek advice and guidance from their Skills Funding Agency Account Manager.
Community Grants
Community Grants enable small third sector organisations, which would not normally be able to access ESF, to apply for small grants through simplified arrangements. These grants support a range of activities that help individuals in the hardest to reach communities to enter the labour market. Community Grants funding must not duplicate provision made available through mainstream ESF activity from the Skills Funding Agency.
A series of co-ordinating bodies administers these grants for the Skills Funding Agency, which publicise the availability of grants and provide support successful applicants.
Case studies
Case studies for ESF provision secured by both the Skills Funding Agency and the Learning and Skills Council in the 2007-13 programme are listed at ESF-Works, a searchable website and multimedia database of ESF projects and products.
