DONG Floats UK East Coast Skills Fund

DONG Energy has announced plans for a new GBP 75,000 Skills Fund as part of the company’s annual GBP 465,000 UK East Coast Community Fund.

GBP 55,000 will be available through an open application process to experienced organisations that can develop and deliver Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) related training or education courses, a one-off event, or a programme of targeted events.

The full GBP 55,000 may be awarded to one organisation, or split between a number of groups that apply. The minimum grant organisations can apply for is GBP 10,000, and the closing date for applications is 14 September.

A further GBP 20,000 will be targeted at four colleges within the Fund’s coastal area of benefit, and will be used to help finance local students who are unable to access traditional funding streams for support.

Natasha Nanuck, DONG Energy’s Stakeholder Advisor said: “We are really pleased to launch the Skills Fund which will commit £75,000 each year for 20 years to help to improve local skills and employment opportunities. This is just part of DONG Energy’s £9.3 million investment for community and environmental projects in coastal areas of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and North Norfolk over the next two decades.”

The East Coast Community Fund is part of the community engagement programme for DONG Energy’s Hornsea Project One and Race Bank offshore wind farms, which are located off the Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and North Norfolk coast.

The fund is being administered by the independent grant-making charity GrantScape.