Major new development programme announced

news release

20 October 2003 – for immediate release

Major new development programme announced

A new £1 million training and development programme has been announced by NICVA, the umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector. The programme, the first of its kind in Northern Ireland, will offer training and development opportunities to over 400 people working in the voluntary and community sector.

Úna McKernan, NICVA’s Director of Corporate Services, explained: “There have been many major training initiatives in the private sector, but this is the first time that a project on this kind has been developed for the voluntary and community sector, which employs nearly 5% of the workforce in Northern Ireland. Over a three year period we hope to put over 400 employees through a range of different levels of training, from basic first level line management through to senior management at postgraduate level ."

Ms McKernan continued: “Research done by NICVA has shown that 83.3% of organisations in the voluntary and community sector have either no training budget or one which is less than £5,000 per annum and less than a fifth of all employees with significant managerial responsibilities have undertaken some form of specific managerial training. One of the main objectives of this programme is to build the capacity of the sector and so contribute to the creation of active, involved and effectively managed communities. We have selected a number of training providers to deliver twelve programmes covering a vast range of management training tailored specifically to the needs of managers in the voluntary and community sector. The programmes offer both accredited and non-accredited programmes ranging in length from two days to two years .”

NICVA will support 75% of the costs of each of the programmes for those who are successful in securing a place therefore providing greater accessibility to all organisations in the sector. Programme prospectuses and application forms are available from Sandra Bailie sandra.bailie@nicva.org or Roisin Kelly roisin.kelly@nicva.org , telephone 028 9087 7777 or visit the NICVA website at http://www.nicva.org .

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For further information please contact:

Frances McCandless, NICVA 028 9087 7777 (w), 07721 746804 (m)