Mid and East Antrim Labour Market Partnership celebrates another prosperous year of collaboration

Local companies, stakeholders and training providers recently came together in Ballymena to celebrate Mid and East Antrim Labour Market Partnership’s success and achievements over the past 12 months.

Mid and East Antrim Labour Market Partnership (MEA LMP) is funded by the Department for Communities comprising of Council, statutory and local employment stakeholders – working together to address unemployment, economic inactivity and improve labour market conditions within the Borough.

MEA LMP Officers have worked closely with numerous employers, community organisations and delivery partners to identify and create a variety of training and support programmes benefiting many residents across the Borough.

The event highlighted the achievements of all those involved with the academies, employability support programmes and community led skills projects. MEA LMP have engaged with over 1,900 participants and 98 employers through a range of events, programmes and academies, increasing knowledge on employability and training initiatives and supporting residents to move closer to the labour market.

Mayor of Mid and East Antrim, Alderman Gerardine Mulvenna said: “I would like to take this opportunity to express my congratulations to all the participants who attended the celebration event and thanks to the delivery partners and employers, whose work contributes to supporting people to access the labour market and ensuring that our community continues to thrive and grow.

“I am delighted to learn of the intensive training interventions implemented by the partnership, focused on developing work-ready skills and industry knowledge and helping our residents gain the experience needed to move into employment. I very much look forward to continuing on that success across the year ahead and we are grateful for the continued support of the Department for Communities in funding this valuable work.”

Speakers at the event included representatives from Northern Regional College, Women’s Tec and NOW Group who provided an overview on academies delivered over the past year such as the LMP Restaurant, Vehicle Electrician Aid, Administration Skills and Engineering Academy, the “Do It Herself” programme, Work Connections and the Graduate Academy.

A number of participants were also in attendance at the celebration event to receive their Certificates of Achievement and recognition for all their hard work in completing the wide range of training initiatives available.

LMP Co-Chair, Edyth Dunlop from the Northern Ireland Union of Supported Employment, closed the event by thanking all the participants, employers and support providers for their achievements and looked forward to 2024/25 for further collaborative working to tackle economic inactivity, employability and upskilling.
Last but not least, Edyth thanked the work of the Mid & East Antrim LMP who have worked tirelessly to achieve these outcomes.

For further information on the forthcoming programmes and events for the year ahead under the MEA LMP Action Plan, please visit www.midandeastantrim.gov.uk/LMP or email lmp@midandeastantrim.gov.uk