Skills Challenge Fund

The Skills Challenge Fund is funded through the Local Growth Fund (LGF) and aims to support businesses to become more productive, competitive and innovative, as well as increasing skills and supporting people into work.  

The Skills Challenge Fund will provide flexible grant support for employer-led projects that address acute skills shortages and workforce challenges in priority sectors. The fund encourages innovative approaches to workforce development, creating pathways into employment, supporting skills progression and helping businesses access the talent and training they need to grow and innovate.

The offer:

The Skills Challenge Fund will offer grants of up to £5,000 (max. 80% of project costs). Applicants must contribute 20%. All funded activity must be completed and applicable evidence submitted before 31 March 2027.

Who is eligible: 

The Skills Challenge Fund is open to applications from enterprises which: 

• Are operating in the Vale of Glamorgan

• Have a registered business address within the Vale of Glamorgan 

• Are established businesses, with at least 12 months of trading 

• Employ at least 2 FTE staff 

The Skills Challenge Fund welcomes collaborative bids from multiple businesses. All collaborative bid partners must be based in the Vale.

What can it fund:  

The grant will fund employer-led projects (revenue) that address acute skills shortages and workforce challenges. The fund encourages innovative approaches to workforce development, creating pathways into employment, supporting skills progression and helping businesses access the talent and training they need to grow and innovate. 
 
Recognising that traditional skills provision and funding programmes do not always meet local needs, the fund will support collaborative projects that test new approaches and respond to identified gaps in provision.  

• When is the grant closing to applications? 
  The grant will be awarded on a first come first served basis. The application window will be open from Monday, 2 November at 12pm midday until Monday, 9 November at 12pm midday. A decision will be made as to whether we can reopen, based on demand. 
• How much match funding do I need? 

  You are required to have a total of 20% of your project costs as match funding.  
  Example 1: Total project costs £5,000 (80% is £4,000 /20% is £1,000)
  Grant award: £4,000Match funding: £1,000 

  
  Example 2: Total project cost £6,250 (80% is £5,000/20% is £1,250)
  Grant award: £5,000 (maximum)Match funding: £1,250

• What counts as match funding? How do I evidence this?  
  Match funding has to be funding that has been secured already and cannot be speculative.  This could include cash from business reserves, a bank loan, or another grant scheme.  Evidence could be in the form of an award letter from a grant funding scheme or bank, or a bank statement with appropriate cleared funds.
• How many quotes do I need? 
  The amount of quotes required will depend on the cost of your project. Please refer to the Procurement section in the guidance notes (page 9-10)
• How soon will I hear if my application is successful? 
  We aim to review applications within 2 weeks of receipt, if your application is deemed eligible and you have provided all the relevant detail it will be passed to our Panel for approval, if more detail is needed you will be contacted by a grant officer.
• When will I receive my grant award? 
  The grant payment will be made to your nominated account within 28 days of your claim being approved.