From left to right;  Stephen McGowan, Strategic Programmes Manager, Urban Villages; Councillor Deirdre Hargey, Chairperson of Belfast City Council’s City Growth and Regeneration Committee; Marty White; Sarojni Matai and Sinead O’Sullivan.

Jobseekers across Belfast are being offered a new range of support options, thanks to Belfast City Council, the Urban Villages Initiative and the European Social Fund.

Now in the second year of delivery, there are five programmes which offer employability support for people living in Belfast who are unemployed and not in training and education.

Councillor Deirdre Hargey, Chair of Belfast City Council’s City Growth and Regeneration Committee, said: “All of our ambitions in the Belfast Agenda are about inclusive regeneration. We want to make sure that everyone benefits from a thriving and prosperous economy – and of course that means that we must focus our efforts on reaching out to those most removed from the labour market to get them back into employment.

“Our people are our greatest asset, so we owe it to them to make sure that they’re making social connections, developing skills, reaching their full potential, and giving them a ladder out of poverty towards a better quality of life.”

The following programmes are now open:

·         LEMIS+ targets those most removed from the labour market to get them back into employment.

·         JobWorks+ meets the needs of young people aged 16-24 who are not in education, employment, or training to tailor development support and assist them to develop new skills.

·         Path 2 Employment engages with those aged 18+ who are unemployed or economically inactive to equip them with transferable skills so that they can secure a job.

·         STRIDE offers people with disabilities who are out of work a year of support to secure paid employment, education or training through mentoring, employability skills, qualifications and experience.

·         Recruit++ supports people who are unemployed or economically inactive and on the autistic spectrum to find jobs through mentoring and coaching activities to reduce communication barriers.

These opportunities are made possible thanks to funding from Belfast City Council, the Northern Ireland European Social Fund 2014-2020 Investment for Jobs and Growth programme and the Urban Villages Initiative, led by the Executive Office (TEO), which focuses on delivering the Together: Building a United Community (T:BUC) strategy across Northern Ireland.

Visit www.belfastcity.gov.uk/esfprogrammes for more information.