Source: City of Plymouth
More funding is coming to Plymouth to help people get the skills they need to get employment – in the very week key city organisations sign up to a far-reaching economic growth plan.
A further £1,024,429 from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund will help projects run by community organisations and small businesses that work with people to grow in confidence and learn skills. This is in addition to the £3.13m Plymouth was awarded in the last round.
In the first three years 16 projects have delivered a range of outputs and activity – from business support for start-ups as well as existing businesses offering advice on issues such as compliance, business models and regulatory information, business strategy and planning.
Digital Remit supported enterprises to grow and aspiring entrepreneurs to start their own enterprises, Iridescent Ideas worked with social enterprises through workshops and events. Real Ideas Organisation, the Council and City College supported skills growth, providing courses, training opportunities, and supporting economically inactive individuals.
Previous funding awards have also gone to organisations such as Nudge Community Builders and Four Greens Community Trust supporting a range of community led initiatives.
A decision is being signed this week to formally accept the Plymouth funding from Government and act as the accountable body with responsibility to distribute the funds.
Council leader Tudor Evans said: “Good news: we have just set out our delivery plan for economic growth and the need to improve skills across the board is underpinning every project.
“We have committed to seeing 1,000 businesses created here in Plymouth. We know this is ambitious, but funding for projects that help people grow in confidence and ability is really going to help.”
This is the last year the fund will run and the intention is to allocate money to projects that are already underway.
There were 6,965 enterprises in Plymouth in 2022. At 411 per 10,000 working age population, this is significantly lower than the UK average of 697. A number of target groups are more likely to be economically inactive including women, people from an ethnic minority background, people aged over 50 and those with long-term sickness.
Only 6.5 per cent of working-age females are self-employed in Plymouth, considerably lower than the average for the South West at 8.7 per cent.