The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Huge response from women of North Kerry to new project
Moving On project already successful in helping secure jobs
A NEW programme aiming to retrain women for a return to the workforce was swamped by applications when it launched earlier in the year as over a hundred hopefuls across North Kerry clamoured for the chance to get back to work.
The overwhelming response to the Moving On Employment Programme, set up with European funding by North, East and West Kerry Development (NEWKD), vindicated the vision behind it – that many women out there quietly working flat out for their families were crying out to carve out lives for themselves in the workforce.
Fast forward just a few months and the 58-strong group are flying it, with ten already in employment having completed training with Moving On.
““Many women on the programme are ready to return to work straight away but some women want to try something new, or to fulfill a dream they had when they were younger,” Project Co-ordinator with the NEWKD Lisa Fingleton told The Kerryman from the project’s base in Listowel. It is currently run out of the company’s centres in Listowel, Tralee and Castleisland.
“So many people don’t get the opportunity to try third level education due to dyslexia, financial challenges or family responsibilities. At ‘Moving On’ we support women to look at their vision and set new goals for themselves. This often includes accessing training in order to access new opportunities and potential. All participants are looking for work but may have been out for the workforce for a number of years raising their families. If you can raise a family you can do any job! Of the 58 women on the programme, 10 have already found part time or full time work.”
The project recently hosted a seminar called Realising Your Potential in partnership with the Tralee IT, Kerry College of Further Education and the Kerry Education and Training Programme - agencies delivering the training participants access through Moving On.
And the experience has been a liveline for many who had felt increasingly isolated after years of raising children. “The main learning comes from each other. Often when you are at home with children, you can feel very isolated and your confidence takes a dip. It is great to meet other women and realise you are not alone,” Lisa said.
That’s borne out by the testimony of participants. KCFE student Jean said: “You become a mammy and you lose your own identity. You know you are practical and that you know how to change a nappy, but when someone asks to describe in writing how you physically change a nappy, that is tough!”
Beginning in the New Year, Moving On is hoping to bring local employers more closely into the mix. “After Christmas we are going to be working with employers who are interested in the work of the project and the training it delivers with a view to getting even more participants into the workforce as the year progresses,” Lisa explained.
There’s no greater indication of the success of Moving On than the fact ten are already employed in the North Kerry area directly as a result of their training with the project – mostly in administrative work and the retail sector.
While the project is fully subscribed for the coming year, applicants can get their names on the waiting list for September 2018. Contact on (087)7101198 or lisafingleton@newkd.ie.