Steps 2 Success officially launched

Steps 2 Success, the Department for Employment and Learning’s new employment programme, has been officially launched across the northern region of Northern Ireland.
PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 16/12/2014: Steps 2 Success, the Department for Employment and Learning's new employment programme has been officially launched across the northern region of Northern Ireland in Derry this morning.
Pictured L-R: Tina McKenzie, Managing Director of EOS NI,  Employment and Learning Minister Stephen Farry, Katrina Hinfey, Contract Manager at EOS NI
PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISONPACEMAKER, BELFAST, 16/12/2014: Steps 2 Success, the Department for Employment and Learning's new employment programme has been officially launched across the northern region of Northern Ireland in Derry this morning.
Pictured L-R: Tina McKenzie, Managing Director of EOS NI,  Employment and Learning Minister Stephen Farry, Katrina Hinfey, Contract Manager at EOS NI
PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON
PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 16/12/2014: Steps 2 Success, the Department for Employment and Learning's new employment programme has been officially launched across the northern region of Northern Ireland in Derry this morning. Pictured L-R: Tina McKenzie, Managing Director of EOS NI, Employment and Learning Minister Stephen Farry, Katrina Hinfey, Contract Manager at EOS NI PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON

It is being delivered by EOS NI and is designed to support jobseekers to find and sustain employment. The programme also supports the needs of employers by giving them access to suitable, job-ready candidates for their vacancies.

Employment and Learning Minister Dr Stephen Farry attended the launch at the Employment Training Centre in Derry and met with Employment Advisers, programme participants and local employers to see firsthand how the programme is being delivered in the region.

The Minister said: “Steps 2 Success is my Department’s new employment programme to support jobseekers by improving their employability skills and providing assistance to find and sustain employment. The programme provides a major change in the way we help people, focusing on providing more flexible support for individuals’ needs and their barriers to work by offering each jobseeker a bespoke, personalised plan tailored to their needs, work experience and job goals.

Minister Farry continued: “The key aims of Steps 2 Success are to support those most in need, regardless of employment barriers, and build a programme that can adapt to changes in the economy and the needs of clients and employers.”

Managing Director of EOS NI, Tina McKenzie said: “We are very proud to be delivering this programme on behalf of DEL in the northern region.”

“We see helping the unemployed to find work as essential, not just for the economy but for the wider society. It is now our job to provide a bespoke service to each Steps 2 Success participant to ensure they achieve their job goals and move into sustained employment.”

Tina highlighted the importance of working with employers to ensure Steps 2 Success is a success. “Our approach is to work with local employers to identify their current and future staffing needs, existing skills gaps and challenges in sourcing quality candidates. This informs our face-to-face work and the training and development of potential candidates.”

EOS NI has invested in their two state-of-the-art Employment Training Centres in Foyle and Newtownabbey. The Centres provide participants with on-site training and work experience in purpose built training facilities. Employers are also invited to become a ‘host employer’ and replicate real business activities and provide participants with business specific knowledge and skills to meet their recruitment needs.

EOS NI are supported by a carefully selected supply chain delivering the service locally across the rest of the region covering Strabane, Limavady, Coleraine, Ballymoney, Ballymena, Moyle, Larne, Antrim, and Carrickfergus.