At an event organised by the Birmingham and Solihull Sub-Regional Partnership, some of Birmingham’s newest employees joined civic leaders and business chiefs celebrating the success of the European Social Fund that has helped them and more the 16,000 other workless people in the region find employment or training.
Councillor Paul Tilsley Chief Executive of West Midlands European Network (WMEN) played Master of Ceremonies for the event in the Banqueting Suite at Birmingham City Council House. Beneficiaries came together with service providers and programme managers to witness how the European Social Fund (ESF) has made a real difference to the lives of people from all communities.
The half-day conference and exhibition was co-ordinated by WMEN and featured stands and displays from a host of the city’s ESF partners. It followed the very successful event in November 2005 and provided an opportunity to update delegates on the latest situation regarding EU funding for the region.

Today is for celebrating, tomorrow is a challenge

Cllr Tilsley, a member of the ESF Programme Monitoring Committee, told delegates: “We have benefited from ESF funding for some time, and I know from personal experience how this has helped Birmingham and Solihull.  There has been an improvement in adult skills, we have encouraged women into non-traditional occupations, and we have been particularly centred on overcoming the barriers to entry into work for particularly disadvantaged groups.”
Cllr Tilsley said the closure of the MG Rover plant at Longbridge just over a year ago had been a particularly severe blow, reflecting a trend in the city that had continued with the recent announcement of plans to shut the HP Sauce factory at Aston.
“But, using ESF funding, we have managed to create new employment opportunities for people, and we have major plans to continue with a series of impressive regeneration programmes.  In such circumstances, it is vital that we are able to access significant European resources in the future” he said.
Cllr Tilsley added: “Today gives us the opportunity to celebrate the success of ESF funding, but there is still much to do. If today is a celebration, tomorrow is a challenge – let’s meet that challenge!”

Massively impressed

Sharing the platform with Cllr Tilsley were Learning and Skills Council Regional Director David Cragg, local businessman Simon Topman, who is also chair of the Aston Pride New Deal for Communities partnership, and Glynis Whiting, Director of West Midlands in Europe.
Mr Topman told delegates that as an employer, he had been “massively impressed” with the quality of staff he had recruited with the help of Aston Pride Employment Connections, a scheme jointly funded by Aston Pride and the City Council’s ESF Co-financing programme.
“These people need to feel the pride that we all take for granted when we have work,” said Mr Topman.  “There is too little belief and hope among the people of Aston that they can do it; co-financing provides genuine hope and belief for those who feel written off. People are reinvigorated by seeing the success of others, and all this helps to regenerate the whole area.”

A huge opportunity

Glynis Whiting said the effectiveness of the ESF partnership had been amply illustrated during last year’s Longbridge closure crisis. “We managed the response to the Rover crisis extremely well,” she told delegates. Looking to the future, she added: “2007-13 is a huge opportunity to go forward on funding and to get the message across about all the good work that is being done under the ESF banner. The expertise built up in project development and management through the ESF Programme should be built upon. It stands West Midlands organisations in a good position to bid for a wide range of EU transnational programmes, such as Lifelong Learning, Competitiveness and Innovation and Seventh Framework Programmes for Research.”

Improve quality of services

More than 170 people representing over 60 organisations attended the ESF celebration, and David Homer, who is responsible for the City Council's £11.8m European Social Fund Co-financing Programme, said: “It was really good to see such a wide range of organisations involved with ESF having the opportunity to network and swap experiences.”  He added: “A number of contacts were made which will have a positive impact on improving the quality of services we are able to provide to people in the Birmingham area.”

• Councillor Paul Tilsley, Chief Executive of West Midlands European Network  addresses delegates to the ESF conference at Birmingham City Council’s Banqueting Suite.  “Using ESF funding, we have managed to create new employment opportunities for people, and we have major plans to continue with a series of impressive regeneration programmes. It is vital that we are able to access significant European resources in the future”

• Simon Topman, chair of the Aston Pride employment and regeneration group, hails the success of the ESF Co-financing programme.  “There is too little belief and hope among the people of Aston that they can do it; co-financing provides genuine hope and belief for those who feel written off. People are reinvigorated by seeing the success of others, and all this helps to regenerate the whole area.”

• Learning and Skills Council Regional Director David Cragg addresses the conference.  “Co-financing employment and training partnerships across the West Midlands had worked extremely well”

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• Councillor Paul Tilsley, Chief Executive of West Midlands European Network and Glynis Whiting, Director of West Midlands in Europe, celebrate the success of the European Social Fund with members of the council’s ESF Co-financing team.

• Aliur Wahid (right), manager of the Bangladeshi Youth Forum centre in Lozells, Aston Pride Employment Theme Manager Shilpi Akbar (centre), and Outreach and Admin worker Rakeya Kamali join in the ESF Co-financing celebrations.

• Delegates tour the exhibition stands at the ESF Co-financing project at the Banqueting Suite at Birmingham’s Council House.