The Relentless International North West 200 and its security company Select Security will provide jobs for 20 long term unemployed men and women during the road racing week.
Belfast (NI) Select Management and Security Ltd have partnered with North Belfast based charity the Ashton Community Trust and have recruited a third of its staff required for this year’s top road racing event through the Department of Employment and Learning (DEL) and the European Social Fund (ESF).
Andrew McQuillan, director at Select Security, explained the background to the initiative: “Our remit is to look after all event security and crowd management throughout the paddock area, grandstand seating, hospitality marquee and at official NW200 campsites – all providing an excellent opportunity for new recruits to develop a range of skills and gain extensive experience in customer service and people management.
“We anticipate that the all round experience acquired at one of Ireland’s largest sporting festivals will prove invaluable to these previously unemployed people in their future work with Select Security.”
All staff recruited by Select Security to work throughout Relentless NW200 Race Week Festival have completed specialist Security Industry Authority Door Supervisor courses and will be taking up a range of positions throughout the paddock, grandstands and hospitality complexes at the NW200 circuit’s HQ.
Mervyn Whyte MBE, NW200 event director, said he was looking forward to working alongside Select Management and its new recruits. “Upwards of 100,000 visitors and fans come to the paddock area, campsites and other locations round the 8.9 mile race course, and it’s essential that we offer efficient, effective, helpful and polite security management throughout Race Week Festival.
“I’m delighted that we have been able to work with DEL, ESF, Select Security and the Ashton Centre to support long term unemployed people and believe their work will help contribute to a smooth and efficiently managed 2012 North West 200.”
Employment and Learning Minister Dr Stephen Farry said: “I commend the Ashton Community Trust European Social Fund project and Select Security Management teams for the partnership and collaborative working they have forged.
“This partnership, supported by my Department through ESF, will provide 20 full-time jobs which will commence at the North West 200, Northern Ireland’s premier sporting event and a major tourist attraction in the 2012 Our Place Our Time celebrations.
“Hundreds of thousands of visitors will come here over the next few years and it is essential that these visitors not only enjoy their stay but want to return again and again. All of the staff who work in our tourism and hospitality sectors must have the right skills to ensure that all our visitors have the very best experience from the moment they arrive here, as well as in the places they stay and the sites and attractions they visit.”