Sinn Fein Foyleside councillor Conor Heaney
The funding, which will facilitate the establishment and roll out of the local Labour Market Partnership, was confirmed at a meeting of Derry City and Strabane District Councils Business & Culture committee on this week.
Commenting, Councillor Heaney said “I am delighted that the DfC Minister has provided support for this programme which seeks to address gaps in training provision across all sectors and for a range of resident profiles in the city and district.
“It will also focus on providing training that will match the type of jobs that will emerge as we recover from the pandemic and for the roles that will be created when the council begins to draw down the £250 million pounds of City Deal funding earmarked for the council area.
“I particularly welcome Minister Deirdre Hargey’s support for bringing those furthest from the labour market in the Derry and Strabane areas back into employability through the Fit & Well for Work programme and that a targeted approach will be adopted to ensure the right candidates are recruited.
“It is important that this programme provides a wraparound service similar to the previous Community Works initiative to maximise the benefits for participants.
“It is now incumbent on the Minister for the Economy to develop new schemes tailored to the needs of the North West economy to compliment this initiative by the DfC Minister.”
