Business in the Community Ireland supported over 200 marginalised people to find employment in 2016

BITCI News - Dec 22, 2016

Business in the Community Ireland, the network for sustainability, announced today that with the support of businesses in Ireland, over 200 people from marginalised backgrounds secured employment in 2016.

One of the most pressing societal issues in Ireland is the continued unemployment rates for marginalised people. Business in the Community Ireland, a non-profit organisation, through its Business Action on Employment Programmes tackles this issue by leveraging the support of businesses to help marginalised people find employment.

Business in the Community Ireland operates two employment focussed programmes. The EPIC Programme stands for Employment for People from Immigrant Communities and to date has worked with 101 nationalities and has helped marginalised immigrants find employment. The Ready for Work Programme helps people who have experienced homelessness or other major challenges to find employment or go on into further training.

In 2016, these two programmes which operate in Dublin helped 489 job seekers and resulted in 201 people finding employment and a further 91 people going into further education or training. The number entering employment was up 20% on 2015 figures.

The key barriers faced by the clients on the programme were around lack of Irish work experience, language barriers and crucially the lack of opportunities.

Both programmes offer a range of free supports from training and CV writing workshops to one to one job search support. What makes the programmes so successful is the support of leading Irish companies who offer work placements, interview skills support and coaching and mentoring services. 46 companies were involved in the programmes this year.

The EPIC Programme is funded by the Office for the Promotion of Migrant Integration under the Department of Justice and Equality and co-financed under the European Social Fund Human Capital Investment Operational Programme 2007-2013

Ready for Work is funded by the Department of Social Protection and Marks & Spencer.

2016 Employment Programmes Outcomes and Challenges

Tags: