Clackmannanshire Council has welcomed the announcement from the Scottish Government of over £600,000 from the European Social Fund to support its delivery of activities aimed at getting residents into work.
A total of £622,222 will go to the Wee County to help people overcome barriers to getting into work including long-term unemployment, following confirmation of Scotland’s share of the first stream of funding released under the Employability Strategic Interventions (SIs) as part of the European Social Fund (ESF) programme for 2014 – 2020.
Enterprise and environment convener Councillor Donald Balsillie commented: “I very much welcome this funding, which supports the council’s focus on job creation and getting local people into jobs.
“The council will develop programmes with a particular focus on young people, the long term unemployed, those with health barriers and unemployed low income parents.
“We will aim to help remove barriers and help support people to progress into employment and self-employment. Once people are in employment, ongoing support and guidance will be provided to help them continue to develop in their jobs.
“Other programmes such as the Employability Fund, Scotland’s Employment Recruitment Incentive and Modern Apprenticeships will also be used to support residents through work experience and training opportunities, as well as providing incentives to employers to take people on.
“The team of business advisers will also work with Business Gateway and local employers to create and grow their businesses and create more job opportunities for local people
Councillor Basillie continued: “The council already has a very successful track record in this area as these activities build on the ongoing work of the economic development team during the last round of European Funding, during which they worked with 1,550 clients, 570 of whom were successful in finding a job.”
Fair Work Secretary Roseanna Cunningham said: “While the overall economic picture for Scotland remains generally very positive, particularly when compared to where we were at the peak of the recession, there remains work to be done. We must maintain momentum and ensure that every power at our disposal is used to grow the economy, increase employment, lower unemployment and remove barriers to the jobs market.
“We are committed to supporting people in their efforts to find viable, quality employment. To do that, we have to work hard with partners to remove the barriers people can face in trying to enter the labour market.”