Northern Ireland bus manufacturer Wrightbus is recruiting 25 trainees from its local community to support young people struggling to find employment.
It comes after the Department for Communities (DfC) launched the JobStart scheme to help young people at risk of unemployment to get jobs. It is available to people age 16-24 and who are receiving income support, Universal Credit or who are jobless, and provides funding towards a six month work opportunity.
The trainee positions with Wrightbus will cover such roles as human resources (HR), logistics, IT, coach building and sales.
While no job is guaranteed at the end of the six month period, DfC says the work placement gives young people the potential to receive a job or progress to further training.
“We wanted to be part of this initiative to support young people in our community who are finding it difficult to find employment, through various challenges that they may be facing,” says Nicola McCloskey, HR Director at Wrightbus. “We know there is a fantastic workforce in Ballymena and the surrounding area and sometimes people just need a break. At Wrightbus, we are confident that we have a wealth of knowledge within our current workforce that means we are perfectly equipped to support these trainee roles.
“Hopefully, at the end of the six months, the trainee will be able to secure permanent employment with us, which is a win for them and a win for us.”
