UK Shared Prosperity Fund Community-Led Employment Support
Holistic support for economically inactive Liverpool City Region residents
This Progress Partnership is funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Starting in April 2024, originally funded for just one year, it has now been extended until 31st March 2026 and involved 13 community-based Delivery Partners operating across the city region.
We welcome referrals until December 2025 – see below for individual Delivery Partner contact details.
The project provides Key Worker support to economically inactive residents of the Liverpool City Region (LCR), aged 16+, to help them to overcome barriers that prevent them from actively looking for work.
In its first year, the Delivery Partnership supported 764 LCR residents to help them move into, or closer to work, education or training by providing individualised, holistic support packages to help address a wide range of issues that contribute to their economic inactivity. Delivery approaches include one-to-one advice and support, group work and signposting to complementary support services. To date the project has achieved 485 positive progression outcomes – to paid employment, education/training, or active job-search.
Multi-agency collaboration, understanding of the target group, localised delivery and robust linkages to other support services, training providers and employers have been essential in providing appropriate packages of support that meet the complex and diverse need of the target group.
The core delivery model involves:
- Proactive, grass-roots engagement;
- Robust initial assessment & action planning
- Frequent contact with clients, progress tracking and regular review
- Collaboration with and referral to other services and activities that support personal development and onward progression;
- Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) & employability/ progression support.
Fundamental to the delivery model is its holistic focus, much wider than traditional employment support. Direct provision of and/or referral to services and activities is an essential element of the support package, for example health & wellbeing, benefits/debt advice, housing support, relief of food, fuel or digital poverty, life skills, basic skills (ESOL, maths, digital) and recreational activities.
Eligibility
All of the following eligibility criteria must be met:
- Aged 16+ (on Project start date);
- Resident in the Liverpool City Region (Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens, Wirral);
- Eligible to Live and Work in the UK;
- Economically Inactive (‘unemployed’ not eligible).
List of delivery partners
| Provider | Where they deliver | Website | Telephone |
| Alt Valley Community Trust | East Liverpool | https://www.altvalley.co.uk/ | 0151 546 5514 |
| Blackburne House Women only | Liverpool | https://www.blackburnehouse.co.uk/ | 0151 709 4356 |
| The Brain Charity | Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton & Wirral | https://www.thebraincharity.org.uk/ | 0151 298 2999 |
| Everton in the Community | Liverpool & South Sefton | https://www.evertoninthecommunity.org/ | 0151 319 4018 |
| Granby Toxeth Development Trust | Liverpool – South/ central | http://www.gtdt.co.uk/ | 0151 734 4925 |
| Knowsley Disability Concern | Knowsley | https://www.kdc.org.uk/ | 0151 480 4090 |
| Phoenix Community & Youth Project | North Sefton | TBC | 0151 283 0800 |
| Rotunda | Liverpool & South Sefton | https://www.therotunda.org.uk/ | 0151 207 2176 |
| Speke Training & Education Centre in partnership with Employability Solutions | South Liverpool | https://stec.org.uk/ https://employabilitysolutions.com/ | 0151 486 4933 0151 427 4193 |
| Torus Foundation | St. Helens | https://torusfoundation.org.uk/ | 0800 678 1894 |
| Transform Lives Company | Halton & Knowsley | https://transform-lives.org/ | 07748 817260 |
| Voice of Nations Women only | South Sefton | https://www.facebook.com/p/Voice-of-Nations-CIC-100064724314628/ | 0151 345 4340 |
| Wirral Change | Wirral | https://wirralchange.org.uk/ | 0151 649 8177 |