Aim
The aim of the Leeds e-employability DP was to increase the skills and capacity of excluded groups through training and education in Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Its focus has been to access the 'boom' industries within Leeds, particularly ICT and the creative industries.
The Leeds DP was led by the Jobs and Skills Service and includes national and regional employers, as well as representatives from the voluntary sector, Jobcentre Plus, Further and Higher Education, Yorkshire Forward and the West Yorkshire Learning and Skills Council.
Objectives
The DP had the overall aim of linking 750 socially and economically excluded people into learning and/or employment opportunities. This process involved capacity and confidence building as well as creating new access routes and dedicated training provision.
The specific objectives were to:
- Remove inequalities in accessing the labour market by developing new ways of linking people with jobs by designing and testing new models of co-operation between business and service providers
- Improve understanding of the skills needs of the Leeds e-economy by commissioning major new research to be completed by 31 December 2002.
- Raise levels of knowledge of e-opportunities in the targeted communities by developing and piloting innovative methods of attracting disenfranchised people to new learning methods
- Support employers in developing new policies and practices in recruiting and retaining excluded groups and developing fairer Equal Opportunities practices
- Develop an inclusive and fully representative Development Partnership with strong 'excluded group' representation able to deliver Action 2 activities in a coherent way
- To test innovative ways of reducing the skills gap between socially excluded groups and e-business employment opportunities in Leeds by developing and adapting new learning methods and the training supply.
Background
The DP consisted of 28 partners, made up of representatives from key public, private and voluntary organisations throughout the city, who are working collaboratively to develop new methods of engaging hard to reach and excluded groups into learning and employment. Approaches used to date, amongst many examples, include audio-visual media production (via Studio 12) community arts and music festivals (Urban Fusion 2 and Get Creative), innovative curriculum development (Swarthmore Education Centre) and pattern breaking programmes (the Big Futures programme and Project Breakthrough).
The project was based in the Leeds sub-region.
