Nominations for the Cornwall Works WISE Awards 2011 are now open. The awards recognise excellence in employment and skills activity in Cornwall. The awards ceremony itself is on Europe Day, May 9th, in recognition of the important role that the European Social Fund has played in employment, skills, training and innovation across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.  If you would like to make a nomination, the application form can be downloaded from www.cornwallworks.org.uk or by e-mailing info@cornwallworks.org.uk and the closing date for applications is Friday, March 18th 2011.

> Cornwall Works WISE Awards launch

Work has begun on a £14.25 million infrastructure project, which will be the first vital step in the future development of the Marine Renewables sector in Hayle, and the wider economic growth of West Cornwall.

> Convergence investment in Hayle

A revolutionary facility created to stimulate economic growth and development in the heartlands of Cornwall is shattering predicted levels of take up from the business community within months of opening. The Pool Innovation Centre, which is already home to 20 companies, and with several others in the pipeline, is approaching an occupancy level of 50% - a figure which had not been expected until the third year of operation.

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Renewable Energy graduate Gerrard McKillen has just completed his first major contract after setting up Source Solar via the ESF (European Social Fund) Convergence supported Graduate Start Up Programme.

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“Convergence Works” 

Cllr Carolyn Rule, Cabinet Member for Economy and Regeneration, Cornwall Council

“On 6 January I visited some of the exciting projects that form part of the Jobcentre Plus ESF Convergence programme which in the last 30 months has engaged with over 9,000 people and so far supported almost 3,000 into work, with the result that here in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly we have the best performing Jobcentre Plus ESF programme in England. I was accompanied by Carolyn Webster, European Programmes Manager for Jobcentre Plus who explained that this success is supported by three key factors:

• the tenders for delivery were informed through Cornwall Works www.cornwallworks.org.uk which meant that Jobcentre Plus bought services which were really needed;
• eligibility and access to the programmes is very simple;
• Jobcentre Plus supports delivery partners to engage in the wider economic regeneration and partnership agenda.

“I visited Re:Store and Re:Source in Bodmin (part of the ESF Convergence Cornwall Works for Social Enterprise programme) delivered by ReZolve Kernow. The warehouse facility, workshop and retail outlet provide a range of support, training and work experience. In addition to helping people back to work both projects are benefiting the environment by restoring white goods and furniture destined for land fill.

“Surf Action, based in Gwithian, supports combat veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to rebuild confidence and motivation through surfing. Founder Rich Emmerson and charitable director Chris Hines MBE explained how the project was changing peoples lives, putting smiles back on faces and helping participants get to a point where they can think positively about the future. Surf Action is part of the ESF Convergence Cornwall Works 50+ programme.

“I talked to people from the Helston area who had been helped by Lizard Pathways, part of the Cornwall Works Plus ESF Convergence programme. I heard how advisers were helping people to gain confidence, access training and overcome barriers to work such as childcare, lack of skills and transport.

“Finally I met with Pentreath, who support people experiencing mental ill health to return to work. The Advance project, based in Penzance provides work placements in a variety of media related roles, including the great www.cornwallmentalhealth.com website on behalf of the Primary Care Trust.

“Overall I was very impressed by the way that Convergence ESF has been used to test new delivery models, by the quality of the provision and the passion and commitment of the delivery partners.”

“EU investment – the long view.” 

Suzanne Bond, CEO, Cornwall Development Company

“Many years ago – 23 in fact – I was working in Brussels in the Directorate General for the Regions – then DG XVI, now DG Regio. At the time the European Commission was exploring ways in which the European Structural Funding programmes could deliver transformational change to the economy of Europe. The objective was in fact to secure a convergence in terms of the performance of the regional economies across Europe. In this way, the vision of the free movement of goods, services and people throughout the Europe could become a reality.

“At this time, we did not have the benefit of almost a quarter of a century of learning as to how regional conversion could be achieved. Today, however, much has changed. The EC – now the European Union (EU) - has expanded from twelve to twenty-seven member states and we now have the benefit of four programmes of EU investment in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly’s economy. These were the Community Support Frameworks (CSF), the Objective 5b Programme, the Objective One Programme and today’s Convergence Programmes.

“What has also changed since 1988 is the significant difference in focus. Back in the CSF and Objective 5b days we, quite rightly, concentrated on the ‘basics’. For example, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly’s produce was sent out ‘raw’ for processing and returned, at a price, to our supermarkets, with Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly then missing out on all the financial benefits of ‘value added’ activity. Fast forward to today, and consider, if you will, the plethora of high end, high value added businesses that are thriving in the sector: from Camel Valley to Cornish Blue, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly now retains the benefits of innovation and of adding value to its own raw materials. Similarly, in tourism, transformation from a weather dependent ‘bucket and spade’ summer offer to the year round cultural destination that Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly is today seemed to be light years away then. We now have world class all weather attractions, a vibrant cultural and arts scene and superb hotels, holiday cottages, restaurants and shops and galleries attracting collectors from around the world.

“These are substantial achievements and without them the true potential of today’s ERDF Convergence Programme could not have been realised. Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly’s programme is truly transformational by its very nature and, unlike most ERDF Convergence Programmes which address basic infrastructure issues, Cornwall is focused on the high level innovation, knowledge based enterprise and low carbon agendas. Our ERDF Convergence Programme is therefore not about remedying the structural deficiencies of the past; instead it is designed to allow our businesses to compete in a global market. Strategic investments include the Combined Universities in Cornwall, Wave Hub, Newquay Airport, Innovation Centres, the regeneration of Camborne, Pool, Redruth, Hayle, St. Austell and Falmouth and, of course, the superlative investment in Superfast Broadband.

“This is why I am so proud to be the Chief Executive of the Cornwall Development Company at this time. These are pivotal years in which Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly’s economy will be transformed by high growth, high value added businesses, dazzling and transformational projects and will be, in the words of Ian Livingstone, CEO of BT, “the best connected rural region in the world”.”

More information about the Rural Development Programme in the South West can be found on the SW Rural Gateway website and on the Convergence website.

Cornwall was recently chosen to receive additional support from the European Fisheries Fund, being designated as a Fisheries Local Action Group.

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