FUNDING & GRANTS

ReAct Please find following information for anyone being made redundant from a full time position of 16 hours or more a week: They will need to go to Careers to get an application form and also have a letter from their Employer stating they are being made redundant. Anyone is eligible for ReAct support if they are a resident in Wales and worked for at least 16 hours a week. Are currently under notice of redundancy or they have become unemployed in the last 6 months as a result of redundancy. Are currently unemployed and have not been in continuous employment for 6 weeks or more in the last 3 months prior to applying for support. Have not undertaken any training funded by the Welsh Assembly Government since being made redundant. Individuals can access up to £1,500 for training to acquire new skills. Maximum of £200 towards travel & accommodation to training courses. Reimbursement of childcare costs (subject to limits and conditions). There are also financial incentives for prospective employers to assist and encourage them to recruit redundant workers. Under the scheme, employers who recruit an individual who is eligible for support can receive the following benefits: An employer recruitment subsidy of £3,000 paid in 4 installments over a 12 month period. Re-imbursement of 70% of the cost of any eligible training (up to £1,000) needed for the employee to carry out their new job. ProAct – Skills Growth Wales   What is Skills Growth Wales? It is a training scheme designed to help companies who are in a position of growth which needs support for training. Support will be given for the cost of training where the company can demonstrate that the funding will enable development over and above what is currently planned, where growth will be bigger, faster etc. The scheme is a selective scheme – not all companies will be successful at application.   What are the eligibility requirements? General Workforce • Companies must demonstrate that they are inherently viable • They must be in the private or third sector. No public sector bodies can be supported through this programme. • Companies must be able to demonstrate that the growth will be over and above what is already planned. This may be in terms of a larger anticipated turnover or profit, an increase of numbers being recruited or that these things will happen in the next year rather than at a later date. What funding is available? We will fund an average of £3,000 per individual for training – this will be based on actual costs of provision per individual. We are able to be flexible with this to maximise the funding available to a company for training eg. If some of your employees need a training course that costs £1,500 and others need a course costing £4,500 we would be prepared to consider this on a case by case basis as long as the funding overall equates to a maximum of £3,000 per employee.   How do I apply? The application process is in two stages. The initial stage requires the completion of a business case to demonstrate eligibility and indicate why you are applying for support. The second stage is the preparation of a detailed training plan which requires a full breakdown for each employee who is to be supported under Skills Growth Wales. Advice and guidance on both stages will be provided if you decide to apply. Due to European Social Fund legislation there are very specific requirements needed as part of the application process and this can be a time consuming activity if you identify large numbers for training.   You can either speak to your DE&T relationship manager if you have one, or contact the Hotline on 0845 60 661 60 to register your interest and be provided with the necessary forms.   Who are the Relationship Managers and Human Resource Development (HRD) advisors? Relationship Managers are part of the Welsh Assembly Governments Department for Economy and Transport. They are already working with a wide range of businesses in various sectors to provide business support and will where appropriate, direct eligible businesses to the ProAct scheme. They will also provide some help to the business in completing stage one of the process and may provide additional information to the panel to assist with the decision making process if necessary.   HRD advisors are external to the Welsh Assembly Government but are usually paid by us for their work with companies to identify what training needs the company has, and help them source suitable providers to deliver the training. The HRD advisors are required to consider a range of providers both private and FE based to meet the employer needs.   ************************* IF YOU ARE A COMPANY IN WALES WITH LESS THAN 250 EMPLOYEES YOU MAY BE ELIGIBLE TO SIGN UP FOR THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME WHICH ALLOWS YOU TO CLAIM 50% OF YOUR TRAINING UP TO A MAXIMUM OF £1,000 IN THE FIRST YEAR, RING FOR MORE DETAILS