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Building Better Communities

HOTSW LEP delighted to be working with 3 organisations who have been progressed to stage 2 – full application for the BIG lottery –  Building Better Opportunities  European Social Fund (ESF) projects to support employment opportunities and inclusion activities across the LEP area.

There are 4 projects in total, which are expected to start in early 2017:  Employment Support for those aged 18+ in Somerset;  Employment Support for those aged 24+ in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay;  Employment support for 18-24 year olds Devon, Plymouth and Torbay;  Employability/Enterprise for Young People aged 15-18 (whole LEP area)

The successful applicants, listed below with the projects they are developing applications for, will now have time to develop their project ideas, working with a wide range of partners and stakeholders.

PLUSS  is developing applications for two of the projects: Employment Support for those aged 18+ in Somerset and Employment Support for those aged 24+ in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay

CSW Group, for the two projects:    Employment support for 18-24 year olds in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay  and  Employability/Enterprise for Young People aged 15-18 in the whole LEP area

And PETROC  is developing an application for one project, which is also covered by CSW:  Employment support for 18-24 year olds in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay

Pluss Chief Executive, Steve Hawkins, said “Pluss is aiming to be the provider of choice to support thousands of disadvantaged people across the South West, West Yorkshire and neighboring regions into sustainable employment.

“Working with the Big Lottery Fund is a proud moment for Pluss. This result confirms that our partnership approach has the potential to deliver significant positive social change at a time when devolution means local areas are taking on more responsibilities for their own future.”

Tracey Burley, Director of Operations for CSW Group said, “The opportunity to take our ideas and develop them into fully fledged projects is an exciting step. As people developers we currently support over 22,000 young people a year as they move from school to college, university or work. This funding allows us to work with those who need more help and need more intensive support.”

Huw Davies, Assistant Principal at Petroc said “We and our partners are delighted to be working with the Big Lottery Fund. We believe our partnership is capable of making a difference to hundreds of marginalised young people across Devon, helping them to realise their potential.”

The Building Better Opportunities ESF project is coordinated by the LEP People Group, meeting documentation and resources on specific projects are available through this link  https://www.heartofswlep.co.uk/people-leadership-group

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      David Ralph

      Chief Executive

      David Ralph started as Chief Executive of Heart of South West LEP at the beginning of June 2018. Previously, he had spent 5 years as CEO of the Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire (D2N2) LEP from 2013 where he oversaw the development of the D2N2 Strategic Economic Plan and sector strategies, 3 Growth Deals with HM Government to deliver a £1billion capital investment programme, securing and implementing £200m ESIF programme, the Derby and Nottingham Enterprise Zone, the D2N2 Skills Deal and Time for Innovation programme, community fund and led the executive team to develop the HS2 East Midlands hub. He was also closely involved in the proposed North Midlands Devolution Deal and one of the key architects in establishing the Midlands Engine, chairing the officer steering group. Whilst in this role David was a NED of the Nottingham Enterprise Zone, and Marketing NG, the Outer Estates Foundation and a Governor of Nottingham College and on the advisory Board of Nottingham Business School.

      Before the East Midlands, David was CEO of the Have Gateway Partnership working closely with local stakeholders including the ports of Felixstowe, Harwich and Ipswich and BT Adadastral Park across Suffolk and Essex and prior to that was Chief Exec of the Barton Hill New Deal for Communities programme in Bristol and the Nelm Development Trust in Norwich.

      David is a keen sailor, walker and trail runner.