European Social Fund: annual implementation report 2022

The full Annual Implementation Report (AIR) is available as a PDF attached to this page.

Below is a Citizen's Summary which briefly describes supported activity referred to in the AIR.

Citizens summary 2022: European Social Fund

What is the European Social Fund?

The European Social Fund (ESF) helps people improve their lives by learning new skills, finding better jobs and lifting them out of poverty.

The ESF is one half of the European Structural and Investment Funds - the other is the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

By the end of 2022, the Scottish Government's running total of approved ESF and ERDF operations was £636.4m.

This money was allocated to local authorities and national partners so that they can deliver projects themselves or distribute the funding to smaller organisations.

The Scottish Government allocates ESF support to projects that work towards our aim of boosting smart and inclusive growth.

These projects include:

• employability programmes run by local authorities
• Skills Development Scotland's apprenticeships
• advice and support for vulnerable households

What activity does the ESF support in Scotland?

Case study

Thanks to European Social Fund (ESF) support, a consortium of third sector organisations is delivering ‘All in Moray’, an employability project to help people with barriers move into and towards employment in Moray.

The consortium is led by Enable and includes Barnardo’s and Apex, and they were awarded up to £413,000 of ESF support through Moray Council’s Challenge Fund. ‘All In Moray’ began in April 2022 with the aim of working with 195 out-of-work people in Moray.

The project provides a learning plan for each participant based on each person’s own unique needs and circumstances. The participants are then helped to achieve the aims of their learning plan by key workers in the consortium

Client testimonial

Robert: “Before we met, I was doing ‘nothing’. I hardly left my house, and I didn’t have any vision for my future. I started working with Enable Works in April 2022. I felt after meeting you that I had a lot of options for the future. Since then, you have helped me create my CV and covering letter and worked on interview skills. [...] You have helped to build my confidence and belief in myself and helped me to make steps forward! I now feel more comfortable getting out of the house and have a lot more confidence in myself. I have something to look forward to in the future!”

Achievements in 2022

'Developing Scotland's Workforce' is an ESF-supported intervention delivered by Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and Skills Development Scotland (SDS). 

Thanks to ESF, SFC assists colleges and universities with employability initiatives for young people, while SDS works with employers to deliver the national apprenticeships programme.

In 2022, SFC recorded 16,854 participants as successful in gaining qualifications in emerging industries and key growth sectors.

SDS recorded 25,536 people of working age gaining a qualification, vocational placement and/or employment.

42,390 people gained qualifications, placements or employment under ESF-supported 'Developing Scotland's Workforce'.

Though Lead Partners began to prepare for the closure of the programmes, ESF continued to support smart and inclusive growth via the delivery of employability pipelines and anti-poverty activities by local authorities.

Case study

‘Thrive to Maximise’ is a project delivered by Stirling Council since October 2022 with £230,000 of allocated ESF support. It assists parents who are out of work as well as those who experience levels of in-work poverty, seeking to improve their employability and their finances via advice and support. The team continues to provide holistic support to current participants, many of whom remain fairly removed from work or education outcomes due to issues and barriers in their lives. For example, one client was a mother who came to Scotland from Ukraine with her two children and used to work as a graphic designer. The team helped her to write a new CV, apply for college for a qualification and receive the correct amount of benefits and bursaries.

Thanks to ESF support, parents in the Stirling Council area who experience poverty are able to massively improve their employment and financial prospects.

Client testimonial

Anonymous: “I came to Scotland with two children from Ukraine – my husband is still in Ukraine. I am a graphic designer and I’m looking for work in Scotland. I receive support from Katy from the Learning and Employability Team. I’m very grateful to Katy for her help and support. She has helped me rewrite my CV, supported me to gain a Paediatric First Aid Qualification. I am going to college in Autumn and Katy also helped me apply for college. This is a huge support for me – thank you very much.”

In December 2022, we published a case studies booklet containing eight stories of people and organisations who have benefitted from ESF and ERDF support. The booklet is available to view on our website.

European Social Fund: annual implementation report 2022

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102 page PDF

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