More than two million people in the UK seeking to improve their skills and job prospects have been helped by the European Social Fund (ESF), Work and Pensions Minister James Plaskitt said today.

The Minister told the ESF Conference, held as part of the UK Presidency of the EU, that the fund had supported a range of life-changing projects � many of which are helping people go on to find a job.

Mr Plaskitt, the Minister responsible for ESF in the UK, said: �Since 2000, ESF has helped 2.2 million people in the UK.

�Vulnerable people in our most deprived communities have been given new opportunities thanks to ESF funding delivered in partnership with the public, private and voluntary sectors.

�More people now have basic skills and qualifications, and more people are moving towards employment or are in jobs. We believe that work is the best route out of poverty and dependence.

�However, this conference is not just about celebrating the achievements of ESF. We must look forward, learn from our achievements, and prepare for future challenges.�

The conference was shown a film highlighting success stories, including Jo Maeva, who was unemployed and wanted to train as a carpenter.

She is now setting her sights on building sets for film and television after she learned

new skills at Lambeth Women�s Workshop which has benefited from ESF money.

She has an NVQ Level 1 in Wood Occupations and went on to complete Level 2 at Mid-Kent College in Maidstone.

Ms Maeva, 29, from Bromley in Kent, said: �Being unemployed is just mind-numbing. I needed to get myself a trade. Lambeth Women�s Workshop took me in and gave me free training to get where I wanted.

�Recently, I have been using my carpentry skills building sets for photo-shoots and exhibitions, which I�m really enjoying.

�I aim to use that as a stepping-stone to working full-time on film sets and TV shoots.�

Notes For Editors

1. Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, David Blunkett, recorded a short video message for the conference, and Vladimir Spidla, EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities delivered a speech.
2. The conference was held as part of the six-month UK Presidency of the EU, which runs until December 31.
3. Most ESF funding in England is administered through Jobcentre Plus, the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), and other agencies. Elsewhere in the UK, the Scottish Executive, Welsh European Funding Office (an executive agency of the Welsh Assembly Government) and the Northern Ireland Office are responsible for ESF.
4. The UK has been allocated �5 billion of ESF money from the 2000-06 EU budget.
5. The Government's annual poverty report Opportunity For All will be launched on Monday, October 17, to coincide with International Poverty Day. An EU Presidency Social Inclusion event, focusing on poverty, will be held in Glasgow on October 17 and 18.
6. Lambeth Women�s Workshop (LWW) is a charity and voluntary organisation that was set up in 1980 to tackle the huge under-representation of women in the construction industry, to help train unemployed women and get them back into work. Over the years LWW has helped thousands of women gain qualifications such as National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs). Three quarters of those leaving the workshop have gone on to further education and training, or successfully gained employment. The workshop receives ESF funding via the Learning and Skills Council (LSC).
7. A photo of Jo Maeva is available on request from the DWP Press Office.

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