Other News In Brief

Belfast Celebrates New Agreement With The Irish Network Of Learning Cities

Belfast Lord Mayor, Michael Long, has hosted a delegation from Cork, Dublin, Limerick and Derry City and Strabane District Council to renew their commitment to promote learning across all five cities and city regions.

Dignitaries and representatives from the Irish Network of Learning Cities travelled from across Ireland to sign up to an extended five-year period of collaboration to use learning to improve the lives of all citizens.

Welcoming the delegates to City Hall, Lord Mayor Councillor Michael Long said: "I am delighted to host and welcome the Lord Mayors and Mayors representing the Irish Network of Learning Cities to Belfast to reaffirm our joint pledge to work together to share best practice on all things related to lifelong and life-wide learning.

"Through this renewed Memorandum of Understanding we promise to support, inspire and share good practice with a focus on building learning cities based on the principles of the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities.

"The importance of building a learning city cannot be underestimated, especially in the wake of the pandemic. We believe that by working together to nurture a culture of learning across all aspects of life, we can empower all our citizens to improve their quality of life and in turn build stronger and healthier communities.

"Since signing the original agreement in 2019, we have built strong foundations as a network and look forward to further collaboration to celebrate learning and shine a spotlight on the achievements of all learners. We are very much looking forward to the next five years."

All five cities in the Network are members of the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities, a network of over 200 cities around the world committed to using learning to improve the lives of their citizens by sharing good practice, creative solutions and ideas in addressing key concerns that impact society.

New Assured Skills Legal Academy In Partnership With FinTrU

A new Assured Skills Legal Academy in partnership with FinTrU has been announced by Economy Minister Gordon Lyons.

Supported by the Department for the Economy, the Academy will see up to 23 participants receive five weeks of online training in legal financial services. Those who successfully complete the training will be eligible for an interview for a role with FinTrU in either their Belfast or North West offices.

While no prior work experience is required, applicants must however be eligible to work full time in the UK and hold at least a 2.2 degree in any discipline before commencement of training.

Welcoming the Academy, Economy Minister Gordon Lyons said: "I am pleased to announce another fantastic employment opportunity in Belfast and the North West with the launch of this latest FinTrU Assured Skills Academy. Assured Skills Academies are excellent development opportunities that provide people with a potential route to employment.

"As our economic sector continues to recover, developing the local skills base is a key element to not only our initial recovery but to our long term economic growth. The Assured Skills Academies have a very strong track record of success in upskilling people and helping them secure employment.

"With a weekly training allowance of £155 also provided, this is a very good opportunity and I urge anyone who is interested and eligible to apply.”

Jamie Foote, Executive Director, FinTrU Legal said: "The FinTrU Legal Academy offers the perfect first step to anyone wishing to begin a legal career within the financial services industry. Our first two Legal academies were a huge success and we're seeking more ambitious individuals who would like to become part of our award-winning legal teams in Belfast and the North West.

"FinTrU is continuing to expand globally so it's the perfect time for those who have recently graduated, or those who simply wish to make a career change, to join us on this exciting journey. This March, we were recognised by the Financial Times as one of the fastest growing companies in Europe for the second year in a row, and we don't intend to slow down any time soon!"

Successful candidates will have the opportunity to join the FinTrU legal team in either their Belfast or North West office and work alongside some of the world's largest Investment Banks. The Legal Academy provides participants with the opportunity to gain both the knowledge and practical skills needed for an exciting legal career in the Financial Services Industry.

Applications for the FinTrU Legal Assured Skills Academy are open until midnight on 31 July 2022 and interviews will be held between 9 August and 17 August 2022.

NI Water Invest £300,000 In County L'Derry Infrastructure

NI Water has launched a £300,000 programme of sewer improvement works in Prehen, County Londonderry to enhance the local sewerage infrastructure and reduce the risk of out of sewer flooding in the area.

The sewer improvements, which will be mainly undertaken using trenchless techniques to minimise disruption, wil get underway next week in Prehen Park and will be extended to various areas of Prehen over a period of approximately 8 weeks. Work at most locations should take no longer than 1-2 days to complete.

NI Water's Robert McLean, Senior Project Manager explained: "This essential work will involve the repair of existing sewers using underground trenchless techniques where possible. This innovative approach will significantly reduce the duration of the works and disruption to the public. Where this method of repair is not possible, due to the condition of the sewer, 'open-dig' repairs will be carried out. The programme of sewer repairs for the Prehen area will also involve some work on private lands.

"NI Water through our project team, CivCo and AECOM, will liaise with any residents, businesses and landowners directly affected by these works. We appreciate that work of this nature can be disruptive and we will endeavour to keep disruption to a minimum.

"We would like to thank the public for their patience and cooperation as we complete this essential work. Local communities will benefit from these sewer improvements and reduced flood risk for many years to come."