Clarets charity selected by government for new funding

Burnley FC in the Community is delighted to announce that it is one of 16 trailblazing organisations from across the country set to receive new funding from the government to support innovative approaches to integration.

The Claret’s official charity will receive £125,559 from the government’s £3m Integrated Communities Innovation Fund to deliver an employability programme for NEET (not in education, training or employment) adults aged 16-24. 

The programme will be delivered from the Leisure Box, the charity’s brand-new community leisure facility in Brierfield.

Following a highly competitive application process, Burnley FC in the Community was one of 16 organisations selected to receive the funding.

Working in partnership with Sport England, the funding will seek to bridge divides within communities and bring people together in bold and innovative ways.

Based in Pendle, the programme will aim to support 225 unemployed people over the course of the year from both the Asian and white British communities living in the area.

Three cohorts of 75 people will run across the year, starting in June. Each programme will last for eight weeks and participants will receive 15 hours of contact time a week.

The estimation is that by the end of the eight weeks, at a minimum all participants will have made progress towards employment or education and that 75% will have secured employment or will have entered into training or education.

With the charity’s links to 60 local businesses and charities, the aim is also to offer participants valuable work experience volunteering opportunities as an additional route to positive community integration.

Communities minister, Lord Bourne said: “Burnley is on the whole a well-integrated area, but we know that too many people still lack the skills and confidence to fully take part in society.

“That’s why I am delighted that this Government is funding new trailblazing projects, such as this one, to bridge divides and bring communities together in bold and innovative ways.

“It’s fantastic to see Burnley FC continuing to play a such a big part in strengthening the local community with such an important project.”

Neil Hart, chief executive officer of Burnley FC in the Community, said: “We are delighted to have received this significant funding from the Integrated Communities Innovation Fund.

“We are proud to be part of a diverse area of the country and we hope this new project will forge valuable, long-lasting links across the many sections of our community.”

The programme is available to individuals who are in need of support and guidance to find employment or a route back into education and will consist of workshops or one-to-one support with mentors and advisors.

The programme starts on Monday 3rd June at 10am.

For more information about the programme, please contact Alison Malcolm, Head of Skills and Employability on a.malcolm@burnleyfc.com or call 01282 704716.