Engage and Enable is a COVER project funded by ESF Technical Assistance to develop its capacity building activities in relation to Learning and Skills in the East of England. The project aims to engage VCS organisations in the skills agenda via local partnerships/consortia and support their capacity building needs to enable them to be fit for purpose as learning providers in a sub contracting or prime contract holding role.

The project also engages with regional and national learning and skills structures and bodies including the Skills Funding Agency, Skills Third Sector and the Third Sector National Learning Alliance. It supports a sub regional network of VCS learning consortia that come together as Learn East which has a dedicated website for regional and national news and learning and skills opportunities. Via Learn East, the project ensures that frontline learning organisations are informed and aware of the impact of emerging developments in this field.

We provide workforce development activities, including a bursary scheme for sector staff wishing to develop their learner support, mentoring or advice giving skills; and run events to bring organisations together to address emerging learning and skills issues.

The project is overseen by a regional advisory group of strategic stakeholders and organisations representing the sector. The group works to align their activities with the "Third Sector Learning and Skills Action Plan" which aims to increase engagement and communications with the sector; develop contracting opportunities; and improve understanding of the processes on both sides.

The ESF Technical Assistant project 'Engage and Enable' has now come to an end, however the Learn East network will continue to meet and support third sector engagement with skills , learning and employability. An evaluation of the achievements and impact of the project has been undertaken with a full report and a summary.