A GROUP of seven West Yorkshire colleges has secured £5.5 million in European funding to help low skilled, low paid workers improve their careers.

The West Yorkshire Consortium of Colleges, which includes Bradford College and Shipley College, successfully bid for the cash from the European Structural and Investment Fund (ESIF).

The funding will be used to give low-skilled workers training that will help them to progress their careers and reduce benefit dependency.

It is the first funding of its kind secured under a new joint venture agreement between the seven colleges.

The chairman of the consortium, Leeds College of Building principal Ian Billyard, welcomed the news.

Speaking at Leeds City Region’s annual skills network conference, held at Bradford College’s Advanced Technology Centre, he said: “The projects support the work of the colleges in Leeds City Region and demonstrate the vital role we play in supporting learners and communities and contributing to local economic growth by raising the bar on skills.”

The Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) had supported the bid.

Stephanie Burras, chairman of the LEP’s employment and skills panel, said she was “immensely pleased” by the news.

She said: “Our research tells us that supporting in-work progression, through training in collaboration with employers, can have significant impact on raising people, particularly women, out of low pay and in-work poverty.”