Objective 3 programme

Jobcentre Plus – London

Building capacity

Getting the most disadvantaged groups back into the labour market is a key aim of the Objective 3 programme and research has shown that one way to do this is to promote and enhance the capacity of local support services that are well placed to serve them.

Capacity building through ESF can help to improve the training and support infrastructure of local organisations, very often from the voluntary and community sector, who are best-placed to access the groups that are in the greatest need in the labour market – namely long-term unemployed people, people with disabilities, ethnic minority groups, homeless people, ex-prisoners and offenders, single parents and people with literacy and numeracy problems.

Through the Objective 3 programme, ESF provides funding, through co-financing, to those organisations that support capacity building. Building the capacity and efficiency of these organisations can, in turn, help them to better target and meet the needs of the disadvantaged groups.

However, it is important to ensure that capacity building maintains a very clear focus on the specific labour market needs of the disadvantaged groups it is trying to help.

Since 2000, more than 600 projects have been approved to support capacity building in England Objective 3. Here we take a closer look at some of the initiatives to see how they are helping people, who would not normally receive help, to gain skills to improve their employment prospects.

Beneficiaries of the Starlink Project receive their certificates from Janet Till, former Mayor of the City of Derby

Jobcentre Plus’s London region has recently approved six capacity buildings projects totalling £1.2 million. These projects provide funding, co-financed by Jobcentre Plus with ESF, to organisations that work with disadvantaged groups in London, in order to return them to the labour market. The six initiatives are:

• Camden Training Network (CTN) Employment Programmes Capacity Building Initiative. Co-ordinated by CTN, the project has received funding to reach and support community, voluntary, and not-for-profit organisations that have either not already secured ESF funding, or have secured funding, but will benefit from support in developing systems further. There are a total of 25 beneficiaries (10 core organisations and 15 additional beneficiaries);
• Creative Quality, co-ordinated by Metier, is receiving funding for 100 beneficiaries (trainers and key staff), primarily from six creative sector organisations, to build their capacity to deliver Jobcentre Plus/ESF projects;
• On Track, co-ordinated by the National Probation Service, has received funding for five beneficiary organisations, encompassing 50 staff, to provide specialist Employment Training and Employment (ETE) programmes for offenders serving sentences in the community;
• The London Ethnic Minority Service Providers Capacity Building Project, co-ordinated by the Council for Minority Voluntary Organisations, has received funding for 50 Minority Ethnic and Refugee Service Providers, who either have no Jobcentre Plus/ESF Objective 3 funded contracts or need help with project management skils:
• System Plus, co-ordinated by CSC Regeneration and Research Ltd, has received funding for 30 beneficiaries, who have either not already secured ESF funding or who have secured funding but need to develop systems further; and
• Islington Training Network, co-ordinated by Islington Training Network. Funding has been given to 45 beneficiaries, comprising organisations that are new or existing adult learning providers and serve beneficiaries from groups that suffer particular disadvantage in accessing the labour market.

Want to know more?
Contact Lola Toyobo on 020 7211 4993