Belfast Council Helps 134 To Work

Belfast City Council has provided 134 job opportunities – made up of 73 permanent and 61 temporary posts - and 106 work placements since the beginning of April this year, as part of its £150m Investment Programme.

Ten new apprentices (pictured) who took up their posts at the beginning of September are training as electricians, painters, fleet technicians and gardeners.

Alderman Gavin Robinson, Chairman of the Council’s Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, which has overall responsibility for both the Investment Programme and employability initiatives, commented: "The Council has a duty to lead by example in terms of opening up employment opportunities for the people of Belfast – opportunities which are of benefit both to the individuals concerned and to the city as a whole.

"Within the framework of our Investment Programme, we set ourselves some very challenging and stringent targets for job creation – and I am delighted to say that we have met all of these targets. Earlier this year, for example, we undertook a pilot exercise to deliver a pre-recruitment training programme to the long-term unemployed, followed by a ring fenced recruitment exercise for five permanent Business Support Clerk posts. Feedback from our employability partners was really positive and the five successful candidates have already started work in their new roles.

"Following the success of this pilot, we’ve used a similar approach, in partnership with Grafton Recruitment, to recruit seasonal cleansing operatives and, we will continue to work with our own departments and our employability partners across the city to further support those who are unemployed or disadvantaged in the labour market and to help them to tackle the barriers to work that they face."

One of the new apprentices, Ciaran McFall, began a work placement in Musgrave Park as part of the ‘ Steps To Work’ programme in February of this year.

He said: "The experience I gained during my work placement really paid off, as it gave me the confidence to apply for the apprentice gardener position and I’m delighted that I got the job. I’m really looking forward to the challenges it will set me and the opportunities it will open up for me in the future."

(IT/CD)