Jobs Available In Omagh For Young People To ‘Advance’ Their Careers

There’s a new opportunity for employment for two young people from Omagh thanks to the Advance Programme – a unique pilot project that offers 24 weeks’ paid employment and on the job training.

The programme matches young people with social enterprises that are currently expanding and require new staff. The aim is that the young person will prove their capabilities and that the social enterprise will take them on permanently.

The jobs currently available are for administrative support workers at Omagh Enterprise Company. One of the jobs is providing support to the company’s programme and property departments and the other is for its social economy hubs.

The Advance Programme is the process of placing 40 young people aged between 18 and 26, in 24 weeks’ paid employment in a range of social enterprises throughout Northern Ireland with the goal of transforming these short term posts into permanent jobs.

This £300,000 pilot project has been developed and managed by Larne Enterprise Development Company Ltd (LEDCOM) in conjunction with Enterprise Northern Ireland and funded by Lloyds TSB Foundation for NI in partnership with Lloyds Banking Group.

Advance programme manager, Audrey Murray appealed to young people to come forward and take advantage of the opportunity.

Sandara Kelso-Robb, executive director of Lloyds TSB Foundation for Northern Ireland which is funding the pilot project added, “This will be the first step on the ladder to success for the young person and an opportunity to expand and grow for the social enterprise; in essence we are interlocking the cogs of enterprise, employment and education to create permanent jobs.”

Each of the young people will also complete Enterprise Northern Ireland’s Exploring Enterprise Programme, which gives them a recognised qualification in business studies, helps develop their entrepreneurial skills and prepares them to take up employment. They will then receive mentoring support and attend interviews with the social enterprises.

Ms Murray said, “These are real jobs, not a placement and our goal is that at least 50% of the recruits will be retained by the companies. It’s up to each young person to make that happen; they have 24 weeks to prove to employers that they have what it takes.”

For further information on the job opportunities through the Advance Programme, contact Hazel Clements at LEDCOM on 028 28269973 or email hazel@ledcomwbp.org.