Programme news

2007 marks the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome which created the European Economic Community and led to the establishment of the European Union (EU). Although the EU has developed since 1957, growing from 6 to 27 members, today’s member states remain united around core values and work together towards common goals. The European Social Fund (ESF) was set up to achieve one of these goals, namely, to increase employment and promote occupational and geographical mobility. ESF has played an important role in increasing economic growth and social cohesion in the EU through supporting the people of its 27 member states to improve their skills and job prospects.

Increased geographic mobility throughout the EU and the world has changed London significantly over the last 50 years. One LSC Pan London ESF Programme 2 project working to increase social cohesion between London’s multinational communities is the ‘Community Interpreting and Advocacy Programme’, led by the Mary Ward Centre. The Programme provides high quality training to unemployed people from minority ethnic groups who want to work as community interpreters.

The Women's Sport Foundation's (WSF) Women into Coaching 2 - London (WiC2) programme celebrated not only its first anniversary today but, one year into the two-year programme, 50% of the 200 course spaces available have been filled.

Pan London 2 celebrates one year's achievements with a reception for providers hosted by the Ecotec team.

A group of Londoners received the European Social Fund Group Award during Adult Learners Week (19-25th May). The group has been recognised for their enthusiasm and commitment to training on the Inside Knowledge project. The project enabled them to move from depending on homelessness support services to becoming support workers themselves.

The provider manual has been further refined.

15 new projects aiming to support the regional skills priorities in London on key themes of worklessness, Level 3 training provision and promoting skills development for 2012, have started delivery.

The lead provider will need to attend a series of workshops run by the London Environment Centre.

View the latest information on Pan London 2 performance in graph form.

LVSTC are running workshops for current VCS partners and providers in May and June on Tracking Your Beneficiaries, The Future of ESF Capacity Building and Planning for Succession.

Improvements and clarifications have been made to the Provider Manual.

Adult Learners’ Week is 19–25 May 2007. It’s a great opportunity to enter your project or programme for an award and promote your project! There are special ESF awards and cash prizes. The deadline to apply has been extended to 26 January 2007.

European programme supporting more than 20,000 Londoners celebrates its successes.

Report highlighting regional impact of the LSC Pan London ESF Programme is now available

Over £5m worth of investment in skills was announced today by the London Learning and Skills Council (LSC).

View the latest information in graph form on the performance of Pan London 1 to date.

We require a Head of Assurance Services and also a Contract Manager. Please see the full descriptions on the Ecotec site.

Robert Evans, Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for London, visited today a project in Oval, South London, which helps excluded African and Caribbean visually impaired people into learning and employment.

Just over £4.8 million of unallocated funds have been made available through an Unallocated Funds Tendering round.

38 new skills development projects were launched today, equivalent to a total of £32.3 million funding for London over the next 2 years. These projects will bring a much-needed cash boost to help overcome existing skills needs within the capital

The London region Learning and Skills Council (LSC) announced today the results of the On Your Marks - London ESF Skills for the 2012 Games Programme.

Following the Moderation Panel, a list of preferred suppliers (subject to contract) for the London ESF Skills for the 2012 Games Programme has been identified.

A guide helping LSC Pan-London 1 and 2 providers to promote their project is now available.

Adult Learners’ Week next year is 19–25 May 2007, so it’s a good idea to start thinking now about your nominations. It’s also a great opportunity to enter your project or programme for an award [ 95kb].

Pan-London 1 and Pan-London 2 (including ESF Skills for the 2012 Games Programme) participants are invited to attend the LSC Pan-London ESF O3 Summer Event on 1 August 2006 which will cover a range of relevant issues to the delivery of all projects.

39 regional projects (subject to contract) will be offering disadvantaged groups across London new learning and employment opportunities over the next two years, the London region Learning and Skills Council (LSC) announced today. Results of the LSC Pan-London ESF Programme 2 tendering round, cofinanced by the European Social Fund and the Learning and Skills Council, are now available following a Moderation Panel comprising key strategic bodies at regional level.

A list of the preferred tenders for the Pan-London 2 programme has been released.

The London Development Agency (LDA) and the Learning and Skills Council in London (LSC) are leading on the London part of the Greater South East European Social Fund (ESF) Olympics Initiative. This Programme will make available around £5.8 million for activities to help prepare Londoners for opportunities brought by the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Robert Evans, Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for London, visited today the Crossing Boundaries Pan-London project funded through the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to help unemployed young people.

The LSC Pan-London 2 programme will build on the current Pan-London 1 programme to assist up to 16,000 people to re-skill themselves and access the London labour market.

The London Learning and Skills Councils (LSCs) have appointed ECOTEC as the co-ordinating organisation (CO) for the programme management of a second major regional European Social Fund (ESF) Programme.

Following the Moderation Panel held on 20 December 2005, the preferred suppliers for the LSC ESF Objective 3 Underspend Tendering Round have been selected.

A second major regional European Social Fund programme will be launched by the London LSCs on 23 January 2006. LSC Pan London ESF Programme 2—‘Pan London 2’—will distribute around £35 million of ESF.

The results of the Underspend Tendering Round will be published online during the week commencing 19 December 2006. Applicants will also be contacted by mail.

Parliamentary under Secretary of State, James Plaskitt MP (Minister for the European Social Fund) visited today the Pan London Somali Employment and Training Project led by Account3 Women’s Consultancy Service (2.2i).

Disadvantaged communities across London are stepping out of poverty and onto the career ladder thanks to a European Social Fund programme.

ECOTEC is looking to recruit a Project Manager to manage a caseload of about 15 projects. This represents an exciting opportunity support those most at a disadvantage in the London labour market through strategic interventions delivered in partnership across the capital.

Just under £2 million of underspend from the LSC Pan London ESF Programme is to be made available through an Underspend Tendering Round. This will be formally launched on 31 October with the publication of the Prospectus containing the specifications to be funded and Tender Proposal Form.

Providers under the Programme are required by contract to attend the LSC Pan-London ESF O3 Autumn Event which will cover a range of relevant issues for the delivery of your projects.

New Short Record forms and related documents for the academic year 2005/06 are now available to download.

The latest version of the Providers’ Manual is now available to download. Also provided under the Providers’ Manual Tools is a link to the Spring 2006 version of GOL’s ESF co-financing guidance.

The first LSC ESF Objective 3 Pan-London Programme research report is now available for download from this site. This report sets out the inter-relationship between the programme and the regional/sector skills agenda in London.

Providers and partners under all LSC Co-Financed Programmes are invited to attend a Drop-In Networking Event focusing on key sectors and beneficiary groups which will involve a number of strategic bodies, including the London Skills Commission and Sector Skills Council representatives.

Further guidance is now available concerning SME definition and ESOL provision.

The LONDON O3 message board is a tool for Pan-London O3 providers and other key relevant bodies to exchange information and provide news and updates about their projects and activities.

Book your place at the Pan-London O3 Spring Event (21 April 2005). The event will focus on future funding opportunities, particularly at European level post-2006, monitoring/audit requirements as well as provide an opportunity for networking and exchanging information with other providers.

The monitoring requirements workshop was held on 25 January 2005. Copies of the presentations are available for download.

ECOTEC has produced a providers’ manual (pdf, 570kb) to complement contract documents and to act as a practical guide to delivery. Updates and further guidance will be provided throughout the lifetime of the Programme and published on this Web site.

LONDON O3 was launched at a startup event as 58 projects start delivery in January 2005. The Learning and Skills Council’s Pan-London ESF Programme Startup Event was held on 10 January 2005.

ECOTEC is organising two events to be held in January to provide information and support for projects under the LSC Pan London ESF Objective 3 programme. Register and find out more information about the nature of each event.

A total of 57 projects have been approved and 50 organisations announced as preferred suppliers (subject to contract) after competing for £29.5 million Objective 3 ESF.

Please note that the complaints procedure regarding initial decisions has now closed (10 days from receipt of letter informing of result).

A list of preferred tenderers is now available on this web site. Contract negotiations for preferred tenderers will be ongoing to prepare for projects to start from January 2005. Preferred suppliers can access relevant documentation, including the delivery profile, in the preferred suppliers section. An overview of the expected impact of the Programme according to target groups, sector focus, outputs and geographical spread is available.

Following the assessment process, tenders were appraised by a Moderation Panel on 27 September 2004. The Moderation Panel was organised by the LSC and comprised key stakeholders in London, including: the London LSCs;SSDA; LDA; GOL; LVSTC; Jobcentre Plus; ALG; Business Link for London; and the Association of London Colleges

A complaints procedure has been set up for any applicants who feel they have not received fair treatment.

306 bids were received by the 5pm deadline on 16 August for the 50 specifications in the Prospectus.

ECOTEC has been appointed the co-ordinating organisation for the programme management of the LSC ESF Objective 3 Pan London Programme.