Tánaiste Joan Burton launches ‘Feeding Ireland’s Future 2015’
Skills for Work Week on 2 – 6 March, 2015, will help give young unemployed people pre-employment skills such as CV writing and good interview technique
Print8 December 2014
Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton, today (8 December) launched ‘Feeding Ireland’s Future 2015’, an initiative by the Irish food and grocery industry body set up to help support young unemployed people. This is the second year of the initiative that will involve food and grocery companies and service providers to the sector throughout Ireland providing free pre-employment skills for young people through its core initiative, ‘Skills for Work Week’, a designated skills training week in March 2015.
The programme is being promoted by ECR Ireland, with the support of its members, in partnership with the Department of Social Protection through its Intreo service. According to the latest Live Register figures, the percentage of young people on the live register in November 2014 was 13.9%. Whilst this is down from 15.3% in November 2013, responding to this situation is still an ongoing priority for the government.
Over the course of the next two months, the Department of Social Protection will be contacting young people across the country that would benefit from this opportunity. The ‘Skills for Work Week 2015’ initiative is being led by board member of ECR Ireland, David O’Neill, managing director of SHS Sales & Marketing.
This will be the second year of Feeding Ireland’s Future. Last year, 29 companies participated in the programme offering over 1,500 places for young unemployed people to attend skills sessions designed to aid their quest for work. The most effective activities conducted were CV writing courses, interview skills and giving insights into various job functions and trading relationships. The initiative was a success, as 97% of participants said they were more confident in applying for a job after taking part. In addition, 88% of companies that took part said they would definitely aspire towards participating in the programme again in 2015.
Companies already signed up for Feeding Ireland’s Future include some of Ireland’s leading names in the grocery industry; BWG Foods, Keelings, Kellogg’s, Maxol Group, Musgrave Group, Nestlé, P&G Foods, SHS Sales & Marketing, Tesco, and Unilever are all involved to date.
The companies will provide a range of initiatives including free on-site skills workshops and site visits for young people at locations across Ireland during Skills for Work Week 2015, which will run from Monday to Friday, 2 – 6 March 2015. ECR Ireland called on as many companies as possible to participate.
ECR member companies interested in participating should contact declancarolan@ecrireland.ie or telephone 087 235 2148.
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