Employer Ownership Pilot Round 2 – FAQs

Q. When will the Round 2 Application form be published?

We aim to get this out as soon as possible. Work is in progress to make the guidance and application form as easy to use as possible. If you sign up to our mailing list, or register to attend one of our events, you will receive an email with links to the application form and guidance on the day that they are both published.

Q. Where can I find out about future events and webinars?

A. The event list on our website is updated frequently.

Q. What are the differences between Round 1 and Round 2?

A. We are building on the lessons learnt from Round 1 and are pleased to be able to commit more funding to co-invest with business for Round 2, and to invite even more ambitious bids that embrace the challenge posed. In this round:

• The funding will be available over three years rather than two.
• We have aligned the Growth and Innovation Fund (GIF) with EOP, simplifying the application process for bidders and allowing us to provide funding for skills infrastructure as well as for training places.
• While the pilot continues to be broadly based, we are keen to see bids which address issues highlighted in Vince Cable’s Industrial Strategy thinking, set out in his speech of 11 September 2012.
  

Q. Will there be a Round 3?

A. There is no current commitment to a Round 3. Lessons from Round 1 and Round 2 around employers’ appetite to direct the skills agenda and invest in skills alongside government will inform how we engage with employers more directly in the future.

Q: What are the criteria for Round 2 and how have they changed from Round 1?

A. There are six criteria, four of which are the same as Round 1: quality and rigour, innovative approaches to skills and workforce development, impact and value for money, and feasibility. The two additional criteria are a greater focus on employer ownership, which reflects the central theme of the pilot, and future prospects, in which we are looking at the long term potential of the proposals. More details on these criteria can be found in the prospectus on our website

Q. There is an opportunity to apply either with a full or an outline bid on 28 February 2013 (with registrations needed by 11 Feb). Who do you envisage applying with a full bid, and who do you expect will use the outline stage?

A. We expect the outline stage to be used by complex or collaborative bids that need the time to develop their proposals (mainly industrial partnerships). We encourage other applicants to submit a full bid, which can proceed to a more rapid decision and will mean they are ready for activity more quickly and in time for the academic year 2013-14.

Q. How much money is available for Round 2? Over what time period?

A. There is up to £340 million available for Round 1 and 2 of the pilot, over the years 2013/14 to 2015-16. Where Round 2 bids include training or apprenticeships that start within that time but will not be completed by March 2016, we will fund the completion of that activity where appropriate.

Q. Why has the Growth and Innovation Fund (GIF) aligned with EOP? What does it mean for those who would have bid for GIF funding?

A. To simplify the co-investment opportunities available to employers and present a unified bidding process. It also helps bidders to help tackle skills challenges holistically: by aligning the funds, we are making government investment for training places as well as skills infrastructure available through the same source. We expect that industrial partnerships will put forward proposals that integrate training places and infrastructure elements.

However, there may be some proposals, including a small number already in the Growth and Innovation Fund process, which do not include a training cost component. These can be submitted to EOP Round 2 and will be assessed under the published criteria for this round of Employer Ownership.

Q. You have aligned the Growth and Innovation Fund (GIF) with EOP. Does this mean there is extra money to invest?

A. We have aligned the EOP and GIF principally because feedback from Round 1 told us that bidders wanted the flexibility to include skills infrastructure alongside training places in their proposals. The total investment pot stands at £340 million.

Q. Must an employer still lead a bid for EOP Round 2? What about where bids go beyond training cost elements?

A. Yes, there must still be an employer lead for EOP Round 2 bids. This is to demonstrate that proposals are genuinely driven by and respond to employers’ needs and will form part of the application form. Applications which seek investment in underpinning arrangements to ensure skills needs are better met in a sector, locality or supply chain will need to have a suitable employer representative body to lead that element and be accountable for its funding.

In applications which only involve investment in training costs we do not need an intermediary body to be identified; however, we do expect that an intermediary, such as a LEP, will be useful in some circumstances to bring bidders together, acting as the conduit to manage activity and funding.

Q. How does EOP fit in with the industrial strategy?

A. It is essential that we have the right skills in the sectors of UK business with the greatest potential to deliver growth. Without the trained specialists, technicians and engineers, we will not meet the goals of the industrial strategy. The key to establishing a partnership with the priority sectors will be the production of sector strategies. As we have seen with the Aerospace strategy, these will need to address sector-specific skills issues to deliver international competitiveness. The Employer Ownership Pilot is aimed broadly but we have already seen innovative proposals from priority sectors and we are keen to see more in Round 2.

Q. Will you be favouring bids from Industrial Strategy sectors? Is it worth those from other sectors applying?

A. We are very interested in receiving bids from the sectors mentioned in the BIS Industrial Strategy but we are also interested in bids from sectors not mentioned. We are also interested to see bids which bring together employers and partners in regions or cities. However, the key criteria of employer ownership, quality and rigour, innovation, feasibility, value for money and future prospects remain the grounding factors in assessing bids, and final decisions will be made in the context of ensuring a balanced portfolio of investments.

Q. How are you engaging SMEs?

A. We are keen for SMEs to get involved in EOP and to support them in applying. But we are conscious that a competitive bidding process can place a burden on them. We and our partners in the UKCES are engaging in an extensive awareness raising campaign around Round 2 of the pilot.

This includes events where employers can ask questions and we encourage SMEs to come along. We will also be signposting SMEs to local support, including Local Enterprise Partnerships, Chambers of Commerce, Sector Skills Councils and colleges, who are well placed to help SMEs develop bids. We are also looking to national bodies including the Federation of Small Businesses to use their contacts to work with and support SMEs.

In addition the parties mentioned can help raise the visibility of other employers or partners who may wish to develop a collaborative bid, as this will help avoid the overheads associated with a bidding process. SMEs should consider whether they are well placed to bring together other SMEs in a collaborative bid – for example if they are a market leader, form part of a critical supply chain or have identified a skills gap relevant to SMEs in particular.

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