Our Programmes
The Social Contract Programme
The Social Contract programme is a £1.7million programme of activity funded by the government’s Contain Outbreak Management Fund via Oxfordshire County Council and led by OxLEP Skills.
The aim is to address the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic related to the impacts of health and wellbeing through unemployment, barriers to employment, education and training. OxLEP Skills has created a series of initiatives to help support those most impacted i.e. young people (aged 16-24 years), minority ethnic communities, those furthest from the labour market and the over 50s.
Apprenticeship Support for Employers
Employers with an annual pay bill of £3m+ pay 0.5% of this as an apprenticeship levy. Employers are able to pledge up to 25% of their levy annually. Levy can be pledged to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), charities and social enterprises to help fund apprenticeship training amd assessment.
The programme’s Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Advisors offer support and guidance, which includes helping employers to unlock their apprenticeship levy and enabling smaller organisations to access unused levy in order to start or develop their apprenticeship schemes. This support is already pre-funded so is at no cost to the employer.
‘No Limits’ Programme
The ‘No Limits’ programme aims to remove barriers that the Oxfordshire community might have getting into work, education or training. It is funded until March 2025 by Cherwell District Council, Oxford City Council, South Oxfordshire District Council, Vale of White Horse District Council and West Oxfordshire District Council through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).
OxGROW Virtual Mentoring Platform
Our virtual mentoring platform connects individuals aged 18 and above, referred by various Oxfordshire support services, with employability support and guidance from professionals across different sectors in Oxfordshire. Mentors provide text-based online mentoring tailored to the needs of the mentees, leveraging their insights into the local labour market and working environments.
Mentees have the flexibility to choose multiple mentors based on their needs or engage in longer-term conversations with a single mentor. Additionally, they can access learning modules covering topics like resilience, confidence building, interview skills, and CV enhancement at their own pace.
If you are interested in learning more or to volunteer as a mentor please email skills@oxfordshirelep.com
Business support tool
We encourage all businesses interested in our Social Contract Programme to complete the OxLEP Business Support Tool so that we can better understand your needs and provide you with targeted help, advice and support.
