European funding has delivered training and employment opportunities to over 70,000 people, according to Employment and Learning Minister Dr Stephen Farry.
He was addressing the recent Learning Network conference in Queen’s University, Belfast, organised by the Learning Network to address social disadvantage and re-integration of unemployed people to the labour market.
The Minister said: “Northern Ireland has always placed great importance on our relationship as a region within the EU. Over the lifespan of the current European Social Fund, my Department is supporting 82 projects with an overall available budget of €166 million to assist disadvantaged groups to access training and employment opportunities.
“To date, this programme has assisted over 76,000 people against an overall participant target of 89,000, with two further years of the programme still to run.”
“The European Social Fund has been successfully targeting disadvantaged groups within Northern Ireland for many years including people with disabilities, women returners to the labour market, or young people not in education, employment or training.”
Referring to the conference theme, Squaring the Circle of Empowerment and Inclusion, the Minister voiced his concern for young unemployed people.
“The issue of youth unemployment is a problem for the whole of the European Community. My Department’s Youth Employment Scheme (YES) is a £31million package which aims to deliver 13,100 work experience and training opportunities over the next the years,” he said.
“Core strands of this new scheme include early intensive diagnosis of employability skills, work experience with skills training, and a new employer subsidy.
This employer subsidy will be for sectors which have the potential to help rebuild and rebalance the Northern Ireland economy. In addition, an investment of £10 million is being made to deliver the initiatives set out in my Department’s Pathways to Success Strategy to help those young people most marginalised in our society engage effectively with the world of work.
Additionally, funding from the Executive’s Jobs and Economy initiative has also allowed my Department to fund further ESF projects across Northern Ireland.”