The South Yorkshire e-Learning Programme, branded ‘e-sy.info’, is a £73m investment in learning and skills for the population of South Yorkshire. The e-sy.info programme is the biggest single investment that Objective 1 is making in South Yorkshire.

At the heart of the programme is an ambitious vision to start improving economic prosperity by supporting new ways of learning in schools, from as young as 10 years old. The main emphasis is on skills in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to give young people, job seekers and employed staff the means to grasp employment opportunities in the developing digital economy.

The programme is part financed by the European Union through Objective 1 South Yorkshire, with the Learning and Skills Council, Yorkshire Forward and in-kind contributions from the four Local Authorities (Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield).

Delivery is through a consortium led by RM plc with local partners Tribal Technology Services (through its main business FD Learning), BTL Group, Sheffield Hallam University and The Sheffield College.

The programme is funding Information and Communications Technology (ICT) equipment, learning resources, training and support, including a state-of-the-art e-learning service.

Project participants include: businesses with between 20 and 250 employees; secondary schools; some primary schools; special schools; LEA teacher training units; colleges; community outreach centres; libraries; specialist ICT centres.

Overall, through the various participating organisations 50,000 learners will access e-learning services, use the Internet and gain ICT qualifications by the time programme ends in December 2006.

Over 2,000 people will be trained to train others including training
co-ordinators in local businesses and teachers in schools and colleges.

Key aspects of the programme that make it distinctive are:

The scale of the project, working across the whole sub-region.	<
The range of learners involved from primary school through to the workplace and beyond.	<
The regional e-learning service, which provides a central point of access for all learners to their online learning and associated activities.	<
The emphasis on professional development and support for teachers, lecturers and trainers to enable them to develop new techniques.	<

For further information visit: www.e-sy.info