The employment prospects of up to 150 young people in a disadvantaged area of Belfast will receive a boost as part of a major training initiative by aviation design and manufacturing company Bombardier Aerospace. The firm is introducing programmes to improve engineering and essential skills such as literacy and numeracy among the community in the West Belfast/Greater Shankill area.
Announcing the programmes yesterday, Mr Michael Ryan, vice-president of Bombardier Aerospace in Northern Ireland, said the company was committed to supporting economic regeneration in this area, where unemployment levels are currently the highest in Northern Ireland.
This is the second phase of the initiative and follows the establishment of the adult craft trainee course.
The courses are being run with the Department for Employment and Learning, the Belfast Institute for Higher Education and education groups in West Belfast and the Greater Shankill area.
"Our objective is to help improve the skills base in the area so that employment prospects are significantly improved. We also encourage companies from other sectors to initiate similar schemes," said Mr Ryan.
The initiative was welcomed by Ms Carmel Hanna, Minister of Employment and Learning, who said her priority was to help those disadvantaged in the labour market become employable and find jobs. The courses would address the needs of those in the West Belfast and Greater Shankill area in a "direct and practical way" she said.
Bombardier's engineering skills for industry course will provide basic engineering skills to a recognised standard and will see the establishment of a Bombardier School of Mechanical Engineering within the new Belfast Institute complex at Millfield. Participants in the courses, which begin this autumn, can avail of work experience and visits to Bombardier and other engineering companies.
The company introduced the training programmes following recommendations last March by the West Belfast/Greater Shankill Task Force, the government-appointed group responsible for looking at ways to deal with long-term unemployment in the area.
