More than 600 people from across North Ayrshire found out about life-changing work and training opportunities during Employability Week.

The week featured a series of events to help showcase services that are available through North Ayrshire Council and various partners, with information about job vacancies, new careers, training and volunteering made available.

CEIS at the barbecueCEIS at the barbecue (Image: NAC)

The council’s employability service’s Your Next Move, Working North Ayrshire programme arranged Employability Week to help people explore opportunities that are available on their doorstep.

This was the second annual Employability Week, running from May 27 to 31, and key events were:

  • A Modern Apprenticeships (MA) information day at Irvine’s Volunteer Rooms.
  • An open day abarbecuet CEIS Ayrshire, in Irvine, where people could meet the team and find out about the range of employment support programmes available.
  • The launch of a new Youth Employment Hub in Stevenston Library for unemployed young people aged 16 to 24.
  • A networking Business Breakfast where local employers discussed employability support and recruitment and training initiatives.
  • The first birthday of the Parent Hub in Ardrossan to promote the variety of support that the We Work for Families Team can offer to parents and
  • A Jobs Fair in Saltcoats where people met local employers to find out about job vacancies and to speak with employment services for support.

The Parent Hub (Image: NAC)

There was also a barbecue at Eglinton Community Gardens, Eglinton Park, Kilwinning, with information stands hosted by the council’s Justice service, which supports people who have been through the justice system with unpaid work and training.

There were also stands from Equal, which is a council service helping people with disabilities or long-term health conditions get back into work and We Work For Families, a council-funded service in Ardrossan that supports parents to break down barriers and get into work, as well as employability CEIS Ayrshire.

Equal  (Image: NAC)

The event was a success again this year, with the team speaking to more than 200 young people, whose comments included “These events are valuable for the community” and “I would definitely recommend this to others".

The CEIS team received 45 new referrals throughout the week, while the Parent Hub had 46 people through the door – with 18 signing up for workshops and job interviews being arranged for two.

Business Breakfast (Image: NAC)

Almost 30 tables were hosted by employers and partners in various sectors at the Jobs Fair. Around 300 members of the public went along on the day and interviews are in the pipeline for many of them.

Louise Kirk, head of service for economic development, growth and regeneration at NAC, said: “This week of events provided a fantastic opportunity for residents from across North Ayrshire to find out more about where their next move could be – whether this is in training or employment.

CEIS at the Youth Hub (Image: NAC)

“I would like to thank all of the council teams and partner organisations involved for helping make the week a success and I wish everyone well who came along to register for an apprenticeship, to investigate local training opportunities or find out about job vacancies.”