More than 50 jobs are being created at the British Council Wales offices in Cardiff.
The British Council has won the contract to manage the European Union’s new Erasmus+ programme in the UK, with its private sector partner Ecorys UK.
Erasmus+ runs from 2014 to 2020 and will see UK organisations involved in education, training, youth and sport working with partners across Europe and beyond to help students and young people to study, train or volunteer abroad.
The new Erasmus+ programme significantly increases EU funding (plus 40%) with an overall budget of €14.7 billion (£12 billion) for the development of knowledge and skills.
In the UK this means almost €1 billion will be provided over the next seven years to help people in the UK gain crucial international skills.
More than 30,000 young people per year – the equivalent of more than 70 fully-laden jumbo jets – are expected to gain opportunities to expand their horizons under the programme. This represents a 50% increase in the number of UK young people receiving grants compared with the EU’s previous Lifelong Learning and Youth in Action programmes, which Erasmus+ replaces.
Jenny Scott, director of British Council Wales, said: “The British Council was delighted to win the UK contract from the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, together with Ecorys UK, and we are pleased that our part of the programme will be based in Cardiff.
“The British Council is an international organisation, on the ground in more than 100 countries, with five offices in the UK. It’s a real vote of confidence in Cardiff to have the city chosen as our Erasmus+ hub. We hope the fact that the British Council can see the attraction of the area will encourage more companies to consider locating here.”
Ruth Sinclair-Jones, Director of the UK National Agency for Erasmus+ at the British Council. said: “Erasmus+ offers a significant opportunity for people in Wales and across the UK to benefit from study, training, volunteering and professional development across Europe. It also offers a range of exciting job opportunities in British Council Wales. The new jobs at British Council Wales include roles in grant delivery and management, customer service, finance, events and marketing."
British Council Wales is based at 1 Kingsway in the centre of Cardiff.