EQUAL Employability Access Project
Employability Access Project Development Partnership
Many people experience barriers when trying to find jobs or re-entering the workforce. The Employability Access Project (EAP) Development Partnership was funded by the European Social Fund under the Northern Ireland EQUAL Community Initiative Programme and the Department for Employment and Learning, and focused on improving access to job opportunities for those people at most disadvantage when seeking employment, specifically within the Health Sector in North Belfast.
The Employability Access Development Partnership looked at recruitment and selection practices in the health sector to build better linkages between the supply of and demand for quality jobs.
Part of this activity involved the delivery, throughout 2006 and 2007, of a pre employment programme linking long term unemployed or economically inactive people from Belfast with entry level posts at the Mater Hospital or North and West Health and Social Services Trust. Click here for further information.
The Employability Access Development Partnership's aims were:
- Test Human Resources models of recruitment and selection to promote social inclusion and employment
- Lead engagement between health sector employers, employability services and beneficiaries
- Improve the supply of and demand for quality jobs in the health service.
Much of the work of the Employability Access Development Partnership focused on its ability to influence mainstream policies that impacted on employability practices.
Composition of the EAP Development Partnership included expertise from a variety of sectors ranging from health sector employers, training and education providers and providers of local employability services. This group brought forward the work of Employability Access Development Partnership and implemented each of the Actions as defined under the NI EQUAL Initiative over the three years of the project..
EQUAL operated over three stages:
- Action 1 (October 2004 – June 2005): This stage saw the establishment of the Development Partnership, agreement of terms of reference, Transnational Co-operation Agreement achieved and production of the Development Partnership Agreement.
- Action 2 (July 2005 – June 2007): This stage implemented work programmes and activities, previously agreed by the Development Partnership and tested approaches to reducing barriers to employment and participation in transnational thematic networks and conference commitments.
- Action 3 (July 2007 to December 2007): This phase concentrated on networking and dissemination of information and learning that influenced mainstream employment policy.
Each of the Actions was time bound with the Employability Access Development Partnership scheduled to conclude its work under NI EQUAL Round 2 by December 2007.
North Belfast Partnership was delighted to lead this EQUAL Initiative, working with our Development Partners on this challenging initiative to promote social inclusion through better employment opportunities.
click here to download the leaflet. click here to download the evaluation of Action 1 of the Employability Access Project. Click here to download the mid term evaluation of Action 2 of the Employability Access Project. Watch our DVD showing successful EAP participants who are now in employment and listen to project staff and employers providing more information about the EAP Pre Employment Training Programme click here
Our Transnational partners were Qualificare (Italy) www.qualificare.info Inserempleo (Spain) and Tallaght Equal Assists (Dublin). Links to partners web sites are as follows:-
www.qualificare.info
www.inserempleo.net
www.tallaghtequalassists.ie
Note address of EQUAL Employability Access Project Development Partner organisations:
www.womenstec.com
www.nctni.com
www.qca.org.uk/ni
www.southbelfast.org
www.mater.n-i.nhs.uk
www.northbelfastpartnership.org
www.haz-nwbelfast.org.uk
www.belfastinstitute.ac.uk
www.delni.gov.uk/
www.nwb.n-i.nhs.uk
www.info@nbec-prospect.co.uk
www.ashtoncentre.com
Other website links
www.equalni.org
www.proteus-ni.org
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