Moray Challenge Fund targets barriers to employment

PROJECTS in Moray seeking to help those facing barriers to employment are being invited to apply for cash from the Challenge Fund.

Up to £800,000 of European Social Funds are available for this purpose which will be taken forward by Moray Council, the lead partner for the Local Employability Partnership.

Eligible projects should work with people who have multiple barriers to employment. Inititives backed by the fund should have ended by March 31, 2023.

The European funding available will cover 80 per cent of the eligible costs. Applicants must be able to provide a source of match funding of at least 20 per cent either from their own funds or by applying for this via the Local Employability Partnership (LEP), making this clear on the application form. The match funding must not be other European funding and it must not be 'in kind' funding.

As part of the Brexit deal, the UK government agreed to honour allocated European funding. This has allowed the Scottish Government to commit these funds to Moray Council until March 31, 2023.

Applications will be scored by the commissioning subgroup of the Local Employability Partnership (LEP).

The deadline for applications is Monday, November 29.

For more information and to apply, visit https://moraypathways.co.uk

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