A major initiative to help young people boost their employment prospects is being extended to other areas of Northern Ireland.

Youth Works, an education and training programme aimed at young people aged 16-17, was successfully piloted for the past year in North Belfast and is to be extended to young people in the rest of Belfast, Foyle, East Londonderry, Newry, Mourne, and Armagh.  Today, representatives from the youth organisations tasked with delivering this innovative programme met in Belfast to discuss the next exciting phase.

This £2 million cross-community initiative is funded by the International Fund for Ireland through its Sharing in Education Programme and managed by the Youth Council NI on behalf of the Department of Education and the Fund.

Youth Works offers unemployed young people who are not undergoing education or training, and who live in communities that suffer from economic and social deprivation, the support needed to fulfil their potential.

The North Belfast pilot demonstrated the value of taking a youth work approach to engaging hard-to-reach young people with no qualifications. Following its success the programme will be extended with new organisations appointed to deliver the model in the target areas.

The new programme is due to commence in October 2012. It offers young people in the target areas a 26-week programme structured around peace and reconciliation, mentoring and personal development. It is designed to help young people re–engage with formal education and training in order to make a real difference to their long-term prospects for training and employment.

The programme will continue to be delivered by a partnership of youth work organisations in North Belfast led by Include Youth along with Artillery Youth Centre, Challenge for Youth and North Belfast Alternatives; with East Belfast Alternatives and Newstart Education Centre joining the partnership to reach young people from across the city. Opportunity Youth have been appointed to deliver the programme in the Foyle/East Londonderry area and YouthAction NI will roll it out in the Newry, Mourne, and Armagh areas.

Dr Adrian Johnston, Chairman of the International Fund for Ireland, said: “The innovative pilot programme has clearly demonstrated how it is possible to develop and deliver meaningful interventions to assist the growing number of young people who are not in education, employment and training to meet their full potential. I am delighted that the programme will now be rolled-out to other parts of Northern Ireland and young people in those areas will be able to benefit from the programme.

The Youth Works Programme forms part of the International Fund for Ireland’s Sharing in Education Programme which aims to facilitate more sharing and promote reconciliation and non-sectarianism in Northern Ireland and the southern border counties. Programmes like Youth Works are at the heart of the Fund’s efforts to build a more shared and peaceful future on the island of Ireland.”

Education Minister John O’Dowd said: “The Youth Works programme is an excellent example of how young people who have not fulfilled their full potential within formal education can re-engage with their learning journey. The programme has enabled them to achieve a range of qualifications and take their first steps towards a positive future in further training or employment.

“Following the success of the pilot, the roll-out of Youth Works, facilitated by my Department and the Fund, in other areas will see this effective and inspiring initiative have a positive impact on young people’s lives right across the north of Ireland. I wish everyone who takes part in Youth Works all the very best as they seek to improve their life chances.”

David Guilfoyle, Chief Executive of the Youth Council for Northern Ireland, speaking at an event (September 10) to share the learning from the pilot programme with the new delivery organisations, said “The programme takes a youth work approach to inspiring young people to address the specific barriers they face to learning, it helps them re-engage with formal education and identify for themselves a meaningful training path or access employment.

“The new programmes are due to commence in October and I would urge anyone who would like more information to get in touch with us at www.ycni.org and we will forward their details to the appropriate delivery organisation.”

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