Minister Praises West Belfast Schools For Working In Health Initiative

27 November 2006
MINISTER PRAISES WEST BELFAST SCHOOLS FOR WORKING IN HEALTH INITIATIVE
Details of an initiative to provide training and employment opportunities for young people living in West Belfast were revealed today.
During an update on Targeted Initiatives at a meeting of the Employment Services Board for West Belfast, Maria Eagle MP, detailed results from the "Working in Health Initiative" for 16 year old students which had been piloted in two schools in the area.
The Minister explained that the aim of the "Working in Health Initiative" was to enhance the long-term employability opportunities of up to 30 young people aged 16 plus per year in West Belfast & Greater Shankill within the Health and Personal Social Services (HPSS) sector in Northern Ireland.
The participating students have been offered accredited training combined with employment placements/employment based training programmes within the HPSS Royal Group of Hospitals.
Commenting on the initiative the Minister said: "It is most encouraging to see here today the real tangible impact of this initiative. Corpus Christi College together with the Girls Model School have pioneered an imaginative and innovative project with the Royal Group of Hospitals and Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education.
"The Working in Health Initiative has allowed young people to see at first hand the reality of work in the Health Service. Not only that, they are being trained in skills which are immediately relevant to the needs of the employer. This will give the students a wonderful opportunity to find work in the health sector.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
1. The Employment Services Board (ESB) was established in response to recommendations in the West Belfast and Greater Shankill Taskforce (WB/GS) Reports of February 2002.
2. The Board was to take the lead in considering issues affecting employability in the areas. The ESB has worked closely with the Department for Employment and Learning in the development of a number of local employment initiatives.
3. The ESB has a number of sub-groups and from one of these 'The Education Completion & Disadvantage Sub Group' a Project Steering Group was established in January 2006, the purpose of which was to link a large employer (Royal Group of Hospitals) directly with schools in an employability initiative in West Belfast & Greater Shankill.
4. The Vocational Enhancement Programme, a pilot jointly administered by Department for Employment and Learning and Department of Education, who are providing funding of Ł36,090 for the Working in Health Initiative, routed through the Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education, for two schools for the 2006/2007 academic year.
5. Media queries to the Department for Employment and Learning on Press Office on 028 9025 7790.

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