DAILY POST January 28, 2009
European Funding
ADVERTISING FEATURE
23
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Helping Wales to face the downturn W
ITH the current global economic downturn taking its toll on all parts of Wales, our ability to access and use European Structural Funds effectively to help our communities is more important than ever before. Communities in Gwynedd, Ynys Môn, Denbighshire, Conwy and Ceredigion, as well as South West Wales and the Valleys, have been awarded the highest level of support through Convergence – with a total extra investment of £3.6bn available until 2013. As a smaller country, we are already acting rapidly and ‘joining up’ policies to secure the greatest positive impact. And EU funding gives Wales an extra edge – a great asset in these difficult times. It means that we can back our tailor-made policies with hard cash – drawing in resources from Brussels to support a wide range of beneficial measures. Overall direction is managed by the Welsh Assembly Government, through my Department’s Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO). But design and delivery of projects on the ground is in the hands of partnerships and organisations across the private, public and third sectors. The latest round of Structural Funds programmes have a clearer focus on sustainable economic growth and job creation. To improve the impact of the programmes, we will have fewer, more strategic projects, with more streamlined management arrangements. In terms of focus, there is a greater emphasis on research and development, support for businesses, helping people into work and improving skills. We are also putting resources into tackling
Ieuan Wyn Jones, Deputy First Minister and Minister for the Economy and Transport, discusses the importance of accessing European funding, particularly in the current economic climate
Deputy First Minister and Minister for the Economy and Transport Ieuan Wyn Jones climate change and regenerating our most deprived communities. Some of the projects we are supporting will be particularly useful during the current economic downturn. For example, the ReAct programme will help more than 12,000 redundant workers gain new employment or training, using over £15m from the European Social Fund. The All-Wales Business
Start Up scheme will help the launch of 8,000 new enterprises, using more than £17m from the European Regional Development Fund. We are extending the Want to Work scheme across Wales, providing over 20,000 new opportunities and the £70m Genesis Cymru Wales 2 programme will help a further 20,000 people who have been out of work for some time to overcome barriers to training and
employment. I am determined that, wherever possible, the EU programmes in Wales will drive forward innovation and develop the contribution of our world-class centres of learning. Last week, for example, I was delighted to announce the £2m GEMS (Growth in Environmental Marine Science) project for North Wales. This will help graduates and enterprises in this innovative sector to increase their global competitiveness – and it is led by the private sector. Devolution has given us the advantage of fast and flexible decision taking. For example, Wales has been able to respond rapidly to recent fluctuations in the exchange rate, maximising the use of available resources. Because the EU component of the funding is valued in euros, its sterling equivalent has risen substantially during recent months. In response to this, WEFO has approved 215 project extensions and new projects worth £52m over the past year alone. Given the magnitude of the global downturn, we have been working to deploy the programmes’ funds as quickly as possible. During 2008, WEFO has paid out over £170m to project sponsors across Wales. Since the launch of the new programmes just over a year ago, we have committed over 30% of the available EU grant – some £520m and over £1bn of total project investment – and I want us to hit 50% of EU grant commitment by the end of the year This includes bringing forward investment in infrastructure – an investment that will help to boost sustainable jobs and growth at a difficult time, while preparing Wales for the economic upturn that will follow.
Preswylfa senior project officer Alexis Roberts with baby Byron and his mum Mandy
Getting real people back into real jobs THE £13.4m North West Wales Intermediate Labour Market (ILM) project will receive £6m of Convergence funding to provide the unemployed with “real work experience”, job search support, interview skills and personal development training for up to 12 months. Led by Wales Council for Voluntary Action, the project will build on the success of the previous ILM programme, supported by Objective 1, which helped nearly 1,200 economically inactive people back into the job market. Operating throughout north west Wales, it will also help people facing multiple barriers to work, including those who have a disability or people leaving care. Targeted at areas of greatest deprivation, the project will focus on reaching people not using mainstream employment services or who are at risk of becoming dependent on benefits. Alexis Roberts is one of the ILM success stories. She used to be a hairdresser but found herself unemployed when an accident occurred that prevented her from working in the salon. In 2006, she heard about the ILM scheme Pobl@gwaith run by Pennaf Ltd, and secured a
place. Alexis undertook an 18-week course, made up of classroom learning followed by a practical placement. Her placement took her to the Foyer Housing project in Wrexham, a scheme for homeless people, aged 16-24, which is managed by Clwyd Alyn Housing Association, part of the Pennaf Housing Group. She was successful in obtaining a full-time job as a project officer in a the new Preswylfa unit in The Foyer building, which has one section for homeless adults and another specifically for homeless mums and babies. Several months later, the opportunity arose for a senior project officer post, and she has been working in the role ever since. She said: “The ILM project changed my life enormously, without the scheme I would never have considered a career in social care. It gave me the chance to contribute to society again and has given me a challenge. “As well as practical and professional skills and work experience, the Pobl@Gwaith ILM training helped me to value myself as a person and that is something I hope I can pass on by supporting those who come to live at Preswylfa.”
Ewrop & Chymru: Buddsoddi yn eich Dyfodol Cronfa Datblygu Rhanbarthol Ewrop Cronfa Gymdeithasol Ewrop Europe & Wales: Investing in your Future European Regional Development Fund European Social Fund