Invitation to Tender (ITT) Innovation Challenge Fund for Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Skills Hub

CIoS Skills Hub has set up the Innovation Challenge Fund to help encourage new approaches new ways of working, clustering and capacity building, and research projects. The Fund supports the CIoS Employment and Skills Strategy strategic objective SO2: "Drive employer and individual engagement and investment in skills" and will assist that strand to: • Enable the demand and supply of skills (at all levels) to meets the needs of high employment sectors • Improve workforce health and well-being • Support small, micro, social and community businesses as well as those who are self-employed to engage in training • Create an effective apprenticeship service for CIoS employers Commission: On behalf of the CIoS Skills Hub, CDC wishes to procure a minimum of 3 projects that deliver an innovative approach to employer-led skills development such as research, collaboration and trying new approaches to the development of skills within sectors with growth potential, aligned to the CIoS Employment & Skills Strategy. These projects should help remove barriers and alleviate issues to accessing skills development. They will also provide early pilot work for support for future employer led skills projects funded under the ESIF. The projects will focus on solving problems to accessing skills development and be able to demonstrate value of the sector to the economy. This includes information on the level of skills that are likely to be supported and the number of businesses that are likely to be engaged through the intervention, as well as looking at the potential for sustainability after the end of the programme. Budget: The total Innovation Challenge Fund is worth a total £120,000 excluding VAT and the Skills Hub is looking to commission a minimum of 3 Projects until October 2019 with value of around £40k each, however we will consider smaller projects.