The Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is encouraging charities and social enterprises to help people furthest away from the workplace to gain the skills they need to become job ready and ultimately get back into work.
Grants of £40,000 are available for charities and social enterprises to develop and deliver projects that will tackle worklessness and skill shortages in our area. The funding will support up to seven projects throughout 2016, with the strongest three organisations receiving a further £50,000 to scale up their projects in 2017.
Launched in May 2013, the LEP Prize Challenge has invested £360,000 into the local community, which has so far helped 110 people to gain paid employment and has supported over 300 people to become work-ready. In Round 2, it aims to reach its target of helping 1,000 disadvantaged people and get 250 people back into work.
In the first round, a range of organisations from across the LEP area benefited from the funding; from housing associations helping young people enter the workplace through paid pre-apprenticeships, to social enterprises helping people at risk of homelessness gain new skills.
The LEP Prize Challenge is open to all local registered charities and social enterprises looking to tackle worklessness and make a difference within their community.
Claire Higgins, LEP Board member and Chief Executive of Cross Keys Homes, said:“The LEP Prize Challenge is a fantastic opportunity for local charities and social enterprises to test out innovative new ideas that will help local people gain the skills and confidence they need to get back into work. The last round was very successful, with over 300 people helped to become work ready and 110 people gaining paid employment as a result of the LEP Prize Challenge. We were really pleased with how the programme delivered our ambitions and believe that the new programme will be even better because we have streamlined the application process and now know what is possible to achieve.
“We are now looking for new projects to support, with grants of £40,000 available to successful projects. We look forward to seeing what ideas local charities and social enterprises submit to us in October.”
Jane Darlington, LEP Prize Challenge Panel member and Chief Executive of Cambridgeshire Community Foundation who administer the scheme, said: “I’m pleased to see the second phase going live to build on the great work already achieved by projects funded under the LEP Prize Challenge. There have been some changes to this phase to build on what was learned in the earlier round.
“For example, the award amounts have been increased, joint bids are encouraged where the applicants can show real gain by working together, and groups will be invited to present their project plans to a panel as part of the selection process.”
To apply for £40,000 funding from the LEP Prize Challenge and help local people get back into work, please visit www.cambscf.org.uk
All applications must be received by 15th October 2015.
You can find out for about the LEP Prize Challenge here.