News
Leading transatlantic charity for education, the Irish American Partnership (the Partnership), has developed and invested $100,000 in SparkStart Digital, in partnership with Fastrack Into IT (FIT). The digital skills program will support 350 participants for three years and is directed towards unemployed marginalized young people in Belfast.
Belfast, Co. Antrim, June 4, 2024 (irishap.org) – U.S. Special Envoy to Northern Ireland for Economic Affairs Joseph P. Kennedy III met with Irish American Partnership President & CEO Mary Sugrue and FIT CEO Peter Davitt at the Portview Trade Centre where they presented a tailored digital skills initiative for disadvantaged young people in Belfast.
SparkStart Digital was designed in honor of Special Envoy Kennedy to further support the economic development work he has achieved across Northern Ireland. With the goal of igniting interest in IT for unemployed marginalized young people, SparkStart is customized to provide targeted support and opportunities to acquire digital skills, build confidence, and access pathways to further learning and quality employment with good career prospects.
“There are hundreds of people who will be helped by this investment, and I’m so moved that the Irish American Partnership would think to do so in collaboration with our efforts,” said U.S. Special Envoy to Northern Ireland for Economic Affairs, Joseph P. Kennedy III.
Prioritizing young job seekers experiencing challenges, such as young people not in education, employment, or training, women returners, newly arrived migrant communities, and special educational needs learners, SparkStart Digital will facilitate 350 participants for 3 years. Of these participants:
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90% will attain a recognized digital skills qualification
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45% will progress into further technology skills training
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30% will progress into employment at a practitioner level in the technology industry
“We are proud to invest in Northern Ireland’s future through the support of the FIT SparkStart Digital initiative, in honor of our great friend, Special Envoy Joe Kennedy. Continuing our work of the past 38 years, we are committed to bolstering the economic development and education opportunities afforded to young people in Belfast,” said Chief Executive Mary Sugrue.
“We’re a social enterprise. Our profit is getting people jobs,” said CEO Peter Davitt. “Our journey began with the Irish American Partnership in 1986 as our first funder at the Ballymun Job Centre in North Dublin. It is a long-term relationship which we value, and I look forward to the future successes of SparkStart Digital here in Belfast.”
Also present to launch the initiative were Sir Bruce Robinson, Irish American Partnership Board member, and former head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, Danielle Barr, Director of Training & Employment Services at FIT, and Katie Slevin, Program Manager with FIT NI.
ABOUT THE IRISH AMERICAN PARTNERSHIP
Dedicated to connecting Irish America and friends of Ireland to their heritage through targeted giving – the Partnership invests in education, community development, and peace initiatives across the island of Ireland. Since their inception in 1986, supporters have raised over $53 million for young people and communities, North and South, empowering and educating the next generation of global leaders. The Partnership provides targeted grants to schools, provides university access scholarships, funds education centers for homeless youth, supports peace and reconciliation initiatives in Northern Ireland, and champions Gaelic games, Irish arts, culture, and more. www.irishap.org. #InvestinginIrelandsFuture
ABOUT FIT (Fastrack into Information Technology)
FIT is an industry partnership working in collaboration with government and disadvantaged communities. FIT is committed to the socio-economic transformation of marginalized jobseekers and disadvantaged communities through innovative ICT training courses as a gateway to employment. It supports those jobseekers that are at risk of, or already experiencing long term unemployment and early school leavers from disadvantaged communities. In total over 48,500 job seekers have completed FIT skills development programs to date, of which in excess of 35,000 have secured quality employment. www.fit.ie
ABOUT SparkStart Digital
The FIT SparkStart Digital Initiative will ignite an interest in IT for unemployed and marginalized young people by providing them with targeted support and opportunities to acquire digital skills, build confidence, and access pathways to further learning and ultimately quality employment with good career prospects. In a welcoming learning and development environment the project will develop and enhance digital skills, provides access to quality online learning resources that deliver in-demand industry qualifications/micro-credentials, elevate employability prospects through work placements and project-based learning thereby eempowering participants to pursue careers in tech sector roles. SparkStart is committed to greater diversity and inclusion by providing those with low or no qualifications, or who have other barriers to learning, with the skills and qualifications needed to find employment and to become economically active.