Harbour Places Trust in Employment Grant
Belfast Harbour reaffirms commitment to Prince’s Trust Development Awards
Belfast Harbour has once again demonstrated its commitment to the local business community by investing in a Prince’s Trust initiative which helps young people tackle financial barriers preventing them from accessing education, training or employment.
The Prince’s Trust Development Awards are an enterprise programme which offers grants to 14 to 25-year-olds from across the UK to help fund activities that increase employment prospects. These activities include the funding of tools or equipment for a job application, college course fees, clothes for a job interview, childcare costs, license fees and transport to a new job.
Belfast Harbour has contributed £20,000 to the scheme over the past two years, with a further £10,000 committed to next year. The contributions made to the programme by local businesses are vital to determining what funding applications in each region across the UK can be met.
Roy Adair, Belfast Harbour CEO, commented:
“Belfast Harbour is strongly committed to supporting our local community, with a very extensive corporate responsibility programme which provides financial and logistical support for a range of business, environmental and arts projects. Enhancing young people’s participation in education and training initiatives which boost their employment prospects is a key objective and the Prince’s Trust Development Awards are a very tangible illustration of this commitment. There can often be a number of mitigating circumstances impeding young people’s prospects of employment and we believe the Northern Ireland business community has a responsibility to engage with young people and provide help when possible.”
Belfast welder Danny Anderson was a recent recipient of a Prince’s Trust Development Award and his experience is an example of the positive affect the programme can have on a young person’s professional career.
Danny left school with two GCSEs and began an Electrical Engineering apprenticeship, but he was unable to complete his training when the company he was working for went into administration. A major operation left Danny incapacitated for eight months and he subsequently found himself out of work for three years as his health condition meant he was unable to carry out the heavy lifting required for his job.
Thanks to funding from the Prince’s Trust, Danny was able to enrol on a part-time welding course, which led to a part-time job with Ability Matters – which then became a full-time job upon completion of his course.
Danny commented:
“The Prince’s Trust Development Award proved to be a turning point in my career – I have gone from being long-term unemployed with very few qualifications to being a qualified welder with a full-time job and plans for my own future development. I simply would not have been able to afford to do the training course if it was not for the Prince’s Trust funding – I am very grateful to the Prince’s Trust for helping me get my career back on track.”
The Prince’s Trust Development Awards are available to people aged 14-16 who are not expecting to achieve five GCSEs (or equivalent) grades A-C or those aged 16-25 who are not in education, training or employment. Applications are assessed on availability of local funding and details of how to apply can be found at www.princes-trust.org.uk/need_help/grants
