Overview
The UK Shared prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the UK Government’s Levelling up agenda and a significant component of it’s support for places across the UK. It provides funding for local investment. Funding has been allocated to local authorities, with Folkestone and Hythe District Council being awarded funding to help both businesses and individuals.
Within each investment priority there are a range of interventions which have associated outputs and outcomes. Through the interventions Folkestone & Hythe District Council (FHDC) are committed to supporting for the People and Skills priority, support is being provided to help fund local skills needs. This includes technical and vocational qualifications and courses, and training for vocational licences relevant to local area needs and high-value qualifications where there is a need for additional skills capacity that is not being met through other provision.
We will be supporting the following strands:
- Retrofit and Green Skills: Green skills courses targeted around ensuring we have the skilled workforce to achieve the government’s net zero and wider environmental ambitions.
- Construction Skills: Support for local areas to fund local skills needs. This includes technical and vocational qualifications and courses, and training for vocational licences relevant to local area needs and high-value qualifications where there is a need for additional skills capacity that is not being met through other provision’.
In doing so, the aim is to:
- Support Growth of employment, turnover and productivity in our key local sectors.
- Enable businesses to access the skilled employees they need.
- Support both new and niche sectors to establish and grow in our local area.
Folkestone & Hythe District Council will be providing support to businesses and individual applicants by apportioning the funding into two main funding pots:
Courses delivered by our chosen partner East Kent College:
An allocation of the UKSPF funds will be directed towards our education partner East Kent College. There is both a need to support post-16 to 19-year-old students combined with resources dedicated to adult upskilling and re-skilling initiatives.
Under this proposal, the colleges will be granted designated funds to offer courses aimed at supporting local businesses and empowering individuals with valuable skills associated with local skills needs specifically focusing on construction and green skills sectors.
Full details of courses provided by EKC will be available soon. However, their offering will include the following:
- Certificate in Retrofit
- Award in Domestic Retrofit Advice
- Award in Energy Efficiency for Older and Traditional Buildings
- Air Source Heat Pump Installation
- Award in Ground Source Heat Pump Systems
- Award in Domestic Retrofit
- Award in the Installation and Maintenance of Solar Thermal Hot Water
- Retrofit Co-ordination and Risk Management
- HTQ in Construction Management
- Diploma in Plumbing Studies
- Diploma in Electrical Installation
- Diploma in Bricklaying
- Water Supply Regulations
- Unvented Cylinder Testing
Bespoke Skills grant scheme for Businesses and their employees:
We appreciate that some upskilling means providing bespoke training requirements that are not covered by the courses being offered by our partner EKC. Therefore, the council is committed to supporting businesses that seek to invest in their employees and provide pathways for career progression through skills development.
Please note that requested training should fall within the retrofit, green or construction skill strands to be eligible for funding consideration.
Participants may be directed to the grant programme through various channels, including local businesses and organisations, educational institutions and Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Who is eligible to apply for funding
- To be eligible for funding consideration, persons should live and/or work predominately work in the Folkestone & Hythe council district.
- Private sector businesses with up to 50 employees can apply for their employees
- Registered charities
- Community interest groups
- DWP clients
- Individuals wishing to invest in their own personal development.
How the grants work and amounts available
Grants are revenue only, and do not cover any VAT that may be applicable to training courses.
Employers:
Grants can be awarded up to 100% of the training cost, though for employers some fund matching is considered desirable within the assessment process, where a business is seeking to invest in its own employees. No minimum limit has been set for fund matching, each application will be considered on it’s own merits.
The maximum grant amount per business is £5,000. This may be reviewed during the scheme timespan. Please enquire should your request exceed this sum. This can be spread across multiple learners within your organisation.
DWP/ other referrals:
If a learner is being referred via an educational institutions or organisation such as Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) a maximum of £1,500 can be requested per learner. If these thresholds cannot be met, they can be altered in extenuated circumstances on a case-by-case basis.
Details of available courses
Full details of courses provided by our partner East Kent College will be made available shortly. A summary of available courses can be found further up this page within the section ‘Courses delivered by our chosen partner East Kent College’
The Application process
Courses provided by our partner East Kent College:
If you are looking to enrol on one or more of these courses, either as an individual or employer/ organisation, you should enrol through East Kent College directly.
Link to EKC website will be added shortly. In the meantime, you can scroll up to ‘Courses delivered by our chosen partner East Kent College’ to read the summary of available courses.
Bespoke skills grant scheme:
Employers, Sole traders, individuals wishing to undergo training that is not covered within the defined course offering by East Kent College, but falls within the green, retrofit and construction skills criteria can apply to Folkestone & Hythe District Council for non-repayable grant funding.
If you feel that you meet these requirements, in the first instance, please complete the relevant application form:
If you are a Business or Organisation click here
If you are an Individual click here
Please note that only fully completed applications with the required supporting evidence will be processed. Incomplete applications will not be processed.
If applying for designated courses with set dates, please ensure that your application is submitted at least 4 weeks prior to the date your intended course starts (where courses have fixed start dates). This is to ensure that we have adequate time to evaluate and process your application.
Upon receipt of an application, this will be evaluated in line with the scheme criteria.
If an application is approved, a grant offer will be made and the applicant will be asked to enter into a grant agreement with Folkestone & Hythe District Council.
Should an application be rejected, the reason/s will be provided to the applicant.
Courses/ training applied for cannot be commenced or expenditure incurred until funding has been approved and a signed grant funding agreement is in place. Retrospective funding cannot be applied for.
Enrolment & Payment of approved funding
Where the course duration is longer than twelve months, individuals must be enrolled upon the course by 31 December 2024.
Please note that in the event of funding approval, payments will be made directly to the course/ training provider.
Enquiries
Should you have any questions regarding the scheme, please email Andy Markwell at Folkestone & Hythe District Council, providing a contact telephone number:
andy.markwell@folkestone-hythe.gov.uk
