Local people who need to improve their skills are set to benefit from a £2m injection of funding from the Learning and Skills Council for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

The council has recently been appointed as a co-financing organisation for the European Social Fund (ESF) Objective 3 under the policy field of lifelong learning - and has already received more than 100 bids for funding to support adult community learning, basic skills and workforce development.

Under ESF and a Local Initiatives Fund (LIF), the Learning and Skills Council has almost £2m to contribute locally to projects which aim to improve employment skills and open up adult learning opportunities.

"We have been very pleased with the community's response to this new initiative," said Jackie Cross, director of planning and communications for the Learning and Skills Council for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

"The range of bids has been very impressive, ranging from support to improve basic skills to widening the opportunities for adult education and training."

In this round of bids, organisations were able to apply directly to the Learning and Skills Council for funding under the LIF, the ESF, or both, for relevant projects starting from 1 September 2001

"As an organisation, we are keen to reach out to the local community and make learning as accessible to as many people as possible, " explained Jackie Cross. "As a result, we have given preference to those projects that encourage and support people who need to improve basic skills or who, for various reasons, find themselves at a disadvantage.

"We are also keen to work with local employers who wish to foster a learning culture within their organisations."