Workforce Training ServicesID: 7481

Workforce Training Services Limited (established in June 1978) is a registered charity which promotes the social inclusion of young people and adults mainly from the West Belfast area and helps them gain employment. It was established to help those who were disaffected or marginalised through social or emotional difficulties, poor educational achievement or lack of employment. In September 2010 58% of Clients were drawn from West Belfast, 35% from North and 7% from South. The organisation’s main office is on the Springfield Road in Belfast. It has recently opened another office on the Falls Road to provide training specifically for youth on personal and social skills development programme. A third office, which specialises in childcare training, is located on the Antrim Road in North Belfast and provides support for those who wish to re-enter the labour market.

Most of the catchment wards served by Workforce fall within the top five per cent areas of multiple deprivation, as measured by the NIMDM. Each of these areas has high levels of unemployment and low levels of educational attainment.

Workforce provides a wide range of professional and technical qualifications in business administration, childcare, hospitality and catering, motor vehicle, multimedia, painting and decorating, and both trowel and wood occupations. Those trainees on entering the training programmes with poor levels of prior academic achievement are offered additional support.

 In May 2010, the Education and Training Inspectorate carried out a proportionate inspection of the Training for Success and ApprenticeshipsNI programmes in Workforce.

 The main strengths are the:

• excellent ethos, care, support and guidance which permeates all aspects of the work of the organisation;
•  well-developed and effective arrangements for the identification and addressing of the trainees’ barriers to learning and employment;
• outstanding quality of the leadership and management, which is trainee-centred and inclusive;
• rigorous and robust processes for quality assurance, critical self-evaluation and continuous improvement planning, which are underpinned by an effective use of reliable data;
• good or very good quality of almost all of the training and learning;
• effective working links and partnerships with key support agencies and employers to meet the individual needs of the trainees;
• high expectations of management and staff, which lead to good attendance, behaviour, outcomes and occupational standards;
• well-planned opportunities for the trainees to develop and apply good personal, social and work-related skills; and
• overall success rates, which are excellent at almost 100%.