What we do
European Social Fund (ESF)
The new European Social Fund (ESF) programme spanning 2007-13 was launched in October 2007 and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has secured £850 million of ESF for learning provision in the first half of the programme between 2008 and 2010.
The programme will invest over £4 billion in England over seven years, of which £2 billion will come from ESF. More specifically, this funding is aimed at:
• improving the employability of inactive and unemployed people;
• tackling barriers to employment for disadvantaged groups of people; and
• raising the qualifications and skills of workers without basic skills and with low or no qualifications.
These priorities for funding mirror the priorities of the LSC and the Council has retained its position as the largest co-financing organisation in England. Mainstream LSC provision such as Train to Gain, Entry to Employment (e2e) and Apprenticeships will benefit from the innovation and added value that ESF co-financing brings.
Securing provision
The LSC has operated a two-stage procurement process for ESF provision: pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) and invitation to tender (ITT). The listing of successful providers below details approved contracts from the procurement process. The remaining contracts for ESF delivery are still in post-tender discussions and will be added to the report as they are approved.
ESF Contract Listing as at 6th March 2009
LSC regions will be tendering for ESF provision at various points within the first half of the 2007-13 ESF programme. Details of tendering opportunities can be found within the Regions section of the LSC website.
