Kildare and Wicklow ETB Newsletter Issue 10 Learn, Work, Live | Page 12

Feeding Irelands Future with Skills for Work

Bray and North Wicklow Youthreach is set to take part in Feeding Ireland’s Future for a second year as the 2017 skills for work week fast approaches. Feeding Ireland's Future (FIF) is an initiative whereby retailers, suppliers and service providers to the Irish food and grocery sector provide free pre-employment skills seminars to young unemployed people. This initiative is promoted by ECR Ireland and is conducted in association with the Department of Social Protection and its INTREO service and the Department of Education and Skills and its Youthreach service.

Following a pilot phase with a number of Youthreach centres around the country in 2016, including Bray Youthreach, more centres are set to take part this time round. There are two ways in which companies can engage with the centre; they either present a “Ready for Work” seminar based around CV and interview skills; or they “Adopt a Youthreach” whereby the relationship is developed over a longer period of time and includes the work skills seminar, work experience and site visits for example. Another key factor to the seminar is a presentation from an INTREO representative ensuring our students are going out into the world of work armed with all the knowledge they need.

Louise Cole, Co-Ordinator

in Bray and North Wicklow

Youthreach presented

at the FIF 2017 Launch Seminar, held in the Plaza Hotel in Tallaght, in February to share their experience and learnings from the previous year. “Key to the success of FIF in Youthreach is developing a relationship with the company beforehand and sharing insights into the needs and skills of the young people in our centres. That way, everybody gets something positive out of it”, says Cole.

The planned session for 2017 will take place during “Skills for Work” week, or rather fortnight for this year; during the last two weeks of March. An exciting development for us, is that this year’s session will once again be hosted by Bray Youthreach but is being offered to all Youthreach centres within KWETB, many of whom are going to send their students to take part. The focus will be on those students for whom progression and graduation is imminent, as the seminar will provide a unique insight into a sector in which there are some great opportunities. It also provides very useable and transferrable skills that will be relevant to any future work scenario for our young people.

Pictured at the FIF 2016 Seminar are Eoghan Phelan from partner company Visualise, Louise Cole, Bray & North Wicklow Youthreach Co-Ordinator, student Lauren Murphy and the students and staff of Bray Youthreach.