Calico Enterprise is set to provide much needed employment and skills support to residents of Lancaster as part of Lancaster City Council’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).
The project is aimed at people over 16 who are unemployed and face barriers to employment with 19.8% of Lancaster’s working age population currently economically inactive.
Support will be available to disadvantaged communities in Lancaster and Morecambe and to people who may not have accessed support before.
Delivered by Calico Enterprise, the project is funded by the UK’s shared prosperity fund central to the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda which is providing £2.6 billion of funding for local investments by March 2025.
Lancaster City Council was awarded £5.3 million in funding as part of the UK’s shared prosperity fund. This will be split between the following three core priorities, as defined by Government: Communities and place, Supporting business and people and skills. The project has been set up as part of the people and skills priority.
Calico Enterprise work with a person-centred approach to support people on any barriers they may face to employment such as confidence, improving knowledge of opportunities, transferable skills and CV and interview support.
Employment coaches will work with people to understand their needs and create an employment plan to move towards searching for jobs, education or training. The project is due to start in October and will run until the end of March 2025.
Sam Howarth, Head of Skills & Enterprise at Calico Enterprise said: ‘We are delighted to have been awarded funding to carry on delivering employability support in Lancaster.
The funding will allow us to further integrate and collaborate within the most disadvantaged communities in Lancaster, working individually with people to understand their needs in all aspects of their life to create a plan that meets their job aspirations.”
Councillor Nick Wilkinson, Lancaster City Council’s cabinet member with responsibility for business support, jobs and skills, said: “Awarding UKSPF funding to provide employability support and high-quality skills training which is accessible to everyone will not only broaden employment opportunities but also support further economic development in a way that is fair and provides equal opportunities for all in our area.”
To access the service or for any questions or support, contact Julie Burrell on 07770011169.
