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Belfast Works is part funded through the Northern Ireland European Social Fund Programme 2014 – 2020 and the Department for the Economy. Led by Upper Springfield Development Trust in partnership with East Belfast Mission, GEMS NI, Job Assist Centre Greater Shankill and Ashton Community Trust supporting people who are unemployed or economically inactive, not in training or education and who live in the city of Belfast. The project seeks to target those most removed from the labour market, including;
People suffering from long-term sickness
People looking after family
Lone parents
Younger people with low skills/ qualifications
Those with poor/ no previous work experience
Long term unemployed
Residents in the most severely disadvantaged areas of Belfast
The aim of the project is to support participants’ persona and employability skills development, with the aim of moving them into employment, education or training.
Job Assist Centres West Belfast operates a number of employability programmes: ESF Funded Belfast Works and CFSP, all of which have the ultimate aim of enabling those furthest from the labour market to gain work. This support includes one-to-one mentoring, employer liaison and increasing employability of people through gaining job-related skills and qualifications that are directly linked to current labour market needs. We endeavour to ensure that people are made to feel welcome and treated with dignity and respect. Our core values underpin all of our work and we have found they are vital in supporting and mentoring people at a grass roots level to address their barriers to work. We provide confidential, personalised, professional, independent mentoring support; empowering people to take the next meaningful step into sustained employment. We are non-judgemental and strive to use the mentoring process as an empowering experience where people take responsibility for and ownership of their own lives. While our mentoring is flexible around needs, the mentoring process involves a structured framework for people to uncover barriers, explore ways of overcoming their barriers and gaining the employability and job-related skills they need to secure sustainable employment.
We do everything in our power to enable our clients to secure and sustain employment. The key elements of this are opposite; utilising our Discretionary Funds to up-skill and ensure clients have qualifications, attitude, motivation and employability skills necessary to achieve employment goals.
Our employment strategy includes keeping our finger on the pulse of job opportunities within local employers, labour market trends, employer’s needs, job search skills and techniques, interview preparation and application filling as well as CV development which ensures effective delivery of our service. As you can see from the diagram opposite, we use a systematic approach to fully link all processes that enable clients to enter employment; co-ordinated through our Employer Liaison Service.
We deliver all our employability services on an outreach basis, ensuring local people have access to the range of support we offer at the heart of their local communities. Our most recent outreach clinics are demonstrated below, with additional referral mechanisms established with Sure Start, Healthy Living Centres, NIACRO, PBNI, hostels, VOYPIC, Women’s Groups, Neighbourhood Renewal, Community Safety Forums, Extended Schools Cluster, Integrated Service for Children & Young People welfare advice, childcare providers, youth clubs, counselling projects etc.
Established in 2003 to address long term unemployment and economic inactivity in West Belfast, we have developed to become a service delivering excellence in employment and employability interventions. We specifically work with those who are:
Our successful track record in working with people is underpinned by our clear and purposeful commitment that every person engaging with our service will be supported encouraged and enabled to target jobs and training opportunities that match:
Our service looks at:
While our services are flexible around needs, we work with people to uncover barriers, explore ways of overcoming these barriers and gaining the employability, essential skills and job-related skills needed to secure sustainable employment.
We endeavour to ensure that people are made to feel welcome and treated with dignity and respect. Our core values underpin all of our work: based on confidential, personalised, professional, independent, impartial mentoring support provided to every person we engage; assisting them to make the next meaningful step to success within their lives. We are non-judgmental and strive to use the mentoring process as an empowering experience where people can take ownership of their own lives. We have a clear understanding of the nature and complexity of the issues and barriers that unemployed people experience.
The programmes we offer include:
The Community Family Support Programme is an initiative designed to help families make life changing decisions to enhance and improve their everyday lives. The programme supports families through developing their capacity to reach their full potential.
During the programme families receive help from professionally qualified family support workers to address the health, social, economic, educational, employment and training issues that impact on their daily lives. The programme is delivered by community family support organisations in the heart of the community.
What support will families receive?
Family support workers engage and consult with parents of children and young people to promote early intervention and high quality parenting and to identify solutions to address their specific needs. The support provided on the programme is directly matched to the expressed needs of the families participating and may include help with:
Entry onto the programme is voluntary and referrals can be made by contacting Job Assis directly or through a third party such as Health and Social Care Trusts, Sure Start and any other organisations that are already working with you.
Job websites:
