Mayor Cllr Martin Reilly with (from left) ILM Placement Connor McCafferty, Danny McCartney, Grounds Maintenance Manager, Hollie Carroll, ILM Placement Officer, and ILM Placement Gary Porter who have both secured full time employment at Derry City Council through the ILM Programme.
Work placement opportunities for 32 young people have been provided by Derry City Council under its Immediate Labour Market Programme (ILM).
The Council has offered 50 weeks paid work placement across a number of departments within the Council to offer practical work experience with a view to securing employment for post progamme.
Two participants of the programme, Gary Porter and Connor McCafferty, have already secured full-time temporary positions in Grounds Maintenance.
Both started the Intermediate Labour Market Programme (ILM) in July last year and were working as greenkeepers when 15 positions of temporary greenkeeper were advertised.
Both applied for temporary full-time positions and were successful at interview stage to secure the roles.
When asked how he felt about his new job, Connor said being part of the ILM Programme was “great” because it gave him the experience and training he needed to apply for the greenkeeper position.
He added: “I am really happy to get the job; this is a new career path for me that I want to keep following in future.”
Connor and Gary are congratulated by Derry Mayor Cllr Martin Reilly.
Gary said: “I’ve had the chance to learn a lot in the past eight months.
The ILM programme has helped me get some more qualifications under my belt which is good because I’d like to stay in this line of work.
“I also benefited from Essential Skills training in numeracy and literacy, something I had always wanted to brush up on.”
He concluded: “This has been a huge step in me securing employment in my chosen career.”
Derry Mayor Cllr Martin Reilly said it was “wonderful” the hard work being put into the Intermediate Labour Market Programme had paid off for the pair and I wished them well in their new positions.
He added: “I am sure the programme will yield success for a number of other candidates also.
“Youth unemployment has risen sharply in our city as a result of the global economic crisis; investing in initiatives that support our young people is vital for the city and Northern Ireland’s future economic prosperity.”
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