A4e one of the largest UK suppliers of services to the public, private and voluntary sector has recently opened 1 of its 6 Northern Ireland operational centres. The centre will cover the Derry, Strabane, Omagh and County Fermanagh areas.

Over the course of the past 25 years A4e has been providing training and employment opportunities to young people and the unemployed in England, Scotland, Wales and even further afield.

Having recently been approved by the Department for Employment and Learning to deliver the Training for Success programme for 16 - 24 year olds, the company intends to emulate this success in Derry ,Strabane, Omagh and County Fermanagh by providing the most appropriate training for each individual and working hard to improve people's lives.

What is Training for Success?

Training for Success is a new programme designed for 16-24 year olds that will allow them to develop the tools to either gain employment or access further training that will help turn a job into a career.

Training for Success is divided into 2 main areas - Job Ready and Level 2 & 3 Apprenticeships.

Job Ready

The Job Ready programme is all about giving young people the skills they need to make life changing decisions. It will, whatever career they choose provide them with the tools that they need to succeed. It focuses on the extra learning that they might need to gain employment on either a one to one basis or through group work. Once they have gained the recognised basic skills and qualifications they can then move onto the next level of Training for Success. Some examples of the training they might receive are interview skills, searching for work and confidence building. Job Ready also includes work sampling and job tasters to allow them to experience different work places and decide on the sort of work or training they might need.

Level 2 & 3 Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships work in 2 ways - firstly by helping the young person find a career that interests them, then giving them the skills to look for find and keep that career.

As an apprentice they will be with an employer in paid employment from day one receiving training and qualifications that employers want.

Apprenticeship areas include Business Admin, Retail, Catering & Hospitality, Amenity Horticulture, Distribution and Warehousing and many more…

The story so far

A4E are currently working and engaging with a wide range of organisations including Careers Service NI and local community and voluntary organisations in the Derry, Strabane, Omagh and County Fermanagh areas to identify potential learners.

We are also successfully liaising with a variety of local employers to work towards up-skilling their existing staff.

If you would like to hear more about the work that A4E is doing in your area, or know of someone who would be interested in benefiting from either the Job Ready or Apprenticeship Programmes please contact: Helen McGeachy, Operations Manager or any of our friendly A4e staff at our local office in Derry on: 028717373112 or alternatively email Helen McGeachy at hmcgeachy@a4e.co.uk

Or check out our website at: www.a4eireland.com

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