NI Employment and Skills Initiative Funding for VCSE Organisations
A new Covid recovery support programme is inviting applications.
Funding is available to organisations in Northern Ireland’s arts, heritage, creative industries, sports, and voluntary and community sectors to fund the salaries and associated costs of creating new entry level employment opportunities.
The Northern Ireland Executive and the Minister for Communities, Deirdre Hargey MLA, have provided the Covid Recovery Programme Employment and Skills Initiative to deliver interventions to address labour market barriers faced by individuals in light of the impact of the pandemic on the economy.
The delivery partners who will deliver the initiative are:
- FutureScreens NI, working in partnership with Arts Council Northern Ireland, inviting applications from arts organisations.
- The Heritage Fund, inviting applications from heritage organisations.
- The Rank Foundation, inviting applications from voluntary and community and sport organisations.
Applications will be accepted from small to medium-sized not-for-profit organisations based in Northern Ireland who can provide employment and skills development for an individual who wishes to enter into, or progress within, the arts, heritage, creative industries, sports, or voluntary and community sectors.
Grants are available to fund the salary and associated costs of a new entry level position. This is calculated on the Real Living Wage plus on-costs and includes an anticipated % increase year on year.
Organisations may also avail of an additional and optional grant to fund skills and development needs of the newly appointed staff and, where appropriate, mentoring and support of existing staff within the organisation.
Sectoral organisations should apply through the channel that best reflects their primary purpose. All applicants should consult the delivery partners’ websites for information regarding eligibility criteria and application deadlines.
(This report was the subject of a GRANTfinder Newsflash.)
