Employability- Removing barriers to work
Living in a certain area or coming from a disadvantaged background means that you will find it much more difficult to find sustained employment. Is that fair? We don't think so and that is why the Employers' Forum for West Belfast and Greater Shankill works to prove the value both
to communities and to business of taking action to address what is a
significant disconnect between those with jobs and those without.
3 out of 5 most deprived wards in Northern Ireland are located within West Belfast/Greater Shankill
Task Forces Report
Business Action on Employability
Lone-parents, ex-offenders, persons with disabilities and young people not in education/employment/training are examples of those who may find it more difficult to find sustained employment. But just because it is more difficult for these groups to gain employment does not mean that they should not be given every opportunity to overcome the barriers they face.
Our Aim
Our aim is to to
help disadvantaged individuals / groups find sustained employment by
engaging business to provide training, work placements and employment
opportunities which improve motivation and confidence and reduce
perceived barriers to gaining work.
Increasingly employers are recognising that there is a growing shortage
of both skills and available labour in many industry sectors and
geographical areas. As a consequence employers are
extending the range of measures designed to attract recruits from the
remaining pool of unemployed people.
Further information
For further information on Business Action on Employability or The Employers' Forum please contact Deirdre Timoney on Tel: (028) 9046 0606.
Employers' Forum
The Forum was formed to improve the interface between employers and the
unemployed and is working to develop strategies to improve skills and
job opportunities across several business sectors. It is responsible for skills training and education to encourage
the matching of education and training programmes with current and
forecasted skill requirements and employment needs in the West
Belfast/Greater Shankill area.
Clusters
A cross-section of employers have pledged their support for the
goals of the Forum, and its main work is being taken forward within
sectoral clusters, namely:
- Construction Cluster - led by Lagan Holdings
- Call Centre Cluster - led by HBOS
- Engineering Cluster - led by Bombardier Aerospace and Belfast Metropolitan College
- Health Cluster - led by Belfast Health & Social Services Trust
- Utilities Engagement - supported by Energy & Utility Skills
- IT Engagement - supported by Microsoft
- Retail - supported by Tesco
Each cluster is being championed by a key employer, with the aim of identifying and overcoming barriers to employment.
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