Clock is ticking to bid for council cash

Time is running out for third sector organisations in the county to bid for a slice of £225,000 to help unemployed people furthest from the job market.

Worcestershire County Council is urging interested organisations to submit an 'expression of interest' for the latest round of Worcestershire Connections funds by 4pm on Monday, March 8.

Third sector organisations – which include social enterprises and voluntary and community sector groups – that submit a suitable expression of interest will subsequently be invited to prepare a formal application by Monday, April 19

It's the second round of funding from a pot of £880,000 that the council secured from Advantage West Midlands. The council was the first in the West Midlands region to make a successful bid.

In particular, projects should be delivered at ground level and should focus on people receiving incapacity benefits, lone parents and ex-offenders. Projects should be designed to help people gain work skills, personal skills, literacy, numeracy and other skills that assist them to find employment. The funds for the year 2010-11 are aiming to help 110 people.

Further rounds of funding will follow. Full details of the current round are available on the Worcestershire County Council website at www.worcestershire.gov.uk/voluntary, or groups can call Nina Ali on 01905 766372.

Councillor Simon Geraghty, Worcestershire County Council's Cabinet Member for Planning, Economy & Performance, said: "I encourage all groups that can help us to deliver suitable projects to get in touch with us. We know that many people are struggling to join the workforce, and the effects of the national recession have made matters much worse, so we're determined to make a difference for local people. We worked very hard to secure these funds and we want to work with the county's excellent service providers to deliver the best results possible."