CSW Group has received £1,706,400 to help some of the South West’s most vulnerable young people make a positive move towards education, employment and training.
The new project called #Focus5 will provide in-depth support to young people aged 15-18 across the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership area.
The project is part of the Building Better Opportunities programme, jointly funded by the European Social Fund and the Big Lottery Fund. It focuses on 5 key employability skills; communication, customer service, organisation, problem solving, and team work each having been identified as crucial skills by local employers. Participants will get the opportunity to engage in work experience or work shadowing, and will receive additional support after leaving the programme to ensure positive impact is sustained.
Over the next three years, working with our partners, we will support 490 individuals in Devon, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay; including those with mental health issues, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), lone parents, and care leavers.
We have over twenty years’ experience as transition management specialists and are the region’s leading provider in advice and guidance. Those involved in the Project will receive ongoing individual help from an identified key worker who will build a personalised package of support. Specialist provision will be identified and sourced from a range of partner organisations ensuring that these young people get the crucial support they require.
Our CEO Paul Hobson said, “This is great news for the region and will provide many young people with support that will make a real difference to their lives”.
Steve Hindley CBE DL, Chair of the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership (HotSW LEP) said: “The LEP is very keen to support initiatives to help young people get into education, training and employment so we are very pleased that this project has received funding. We’re working towards raising productivity across Devon, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay so it’s important that young people are equipped with the right skills to take up the higher value jobs being created.”
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