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Image credit: Brooke Cagle, Unsplash
Mayoral Priority Skills Fund

What is the Mayoral Priority Skills Fund?

The Mayoral Priority Skills Fund will provide flexible grant funding to meet current priority skills gaps in the region. These priorities have been identified through robust intelligence gathered through delivery of previous and existing programmes, data, reports and gaps identified through Skills Connect.

This funding will support skills initiatives based on the priority skills gaps and will provide funding for activity until March 2025. Funding will also address priorities set by Metro Mayor Dan Norris and support delivery of the Employment and Skills Plan.

Funding is provided from both Mayoral Priority Skills Fund (MPSF) and part-funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).

Mayoral Priority Skills Fund

What is funded?

Our first funding call to address the below initiatives has now closed (closed 11th September 2023). Details on delivery partners will be found on this website page in early November 2023 as projects initiate. We hope to run further funding rounds in the future and details will be kept up to date here.

Lot 1 - Modular training

Funding for in-work skills initiatives to support residents to gain qualifications and training through modular training addressing local skills needs for cross-cutting themes in our economy including; digital skills, green skills, and sector specific leadership and management.

Lot 2 - Apprenticeship support

Initiatives which increase apprenticeship starts and completions and which increase engagement from a variety of target groups, parents and employers. This can include supporting employers to successfully manage an apprentice through the apprenticeship and through the end point assessment to ensure successful completions.

Lot 3 - Communities

New programmes which engage the most vulnerable and economically inactive in our communities facing multiple barriers to accessing mainstream training and employability services. Programmes will provide high levels of individualised support and wrap around support through community partnerships to support residents to progress into positive skills/training, employability and volunteering outcomes.

Lot 4 - NEET and Pre-NEET support

New programmes which provide intensive individualised support for individuals to grow in confidence, access wrap around services such as health and wellbeing and progress into positive skills/training, employability and volunteering outcomes.

Lot 4 NEET and Pre-NEET support is only open to Local Authorities to apply as lead organisations. Therefore, application paperwork is not available.

Where does funding come from?

Mayoral Priority Skills Fund

This is £1 million of funding to support gaps in provision identified through Skills Connect and wider intelligence (i.e. gathered through LMI, evidence from the Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP), delivery of the Community Support Fund, Digital Skills Investment Programme, AEB, bootcamps and other provision). It is aligned to support Mayoral Priorities and the Employment and Skills Plan.

Funded by UK Gov Levelling up logo

UK Shared Prosperity Funding

This project is part-funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025. The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills. For more information, visit UK Shared Prosperity Fund: prospectus - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The Combined Authority has been awarded £3.2 million to support People and Skills initiatives in our region. There are 4 priority areas this funding will address:

  • Supporting residents in-work to progress their careers
  • Funding to address local skills needs and priority skills for the region’s future economy
  • Reducing economic inactivity & long-term unemployment
  • Supporting young people not in Education, Employment and Training