Job Assist Centre West Belfast is a voluntary mentoring, advice and referral service wrapped around the needs people who we see as unique and valuable. We will work on a one-to-one basis with people to identify and tackle barriers to employment, supporting them through the process of moving along the employability continuum towards employment.

Our approach is innovative, long-term, focused on quality, flexible, supportive, accepting, down-to-earth, straight talking and honest. We build confidence and trust with people we engage and develop long term relationships that focus on empowering people to make choices for themselves.

To be effective and meaningful, we believe it is essential that Job Assist Centres West Belfast operate within the principles and practices of community development, linked at a grass roots level directly with those furthest from the labour. We develop creative partnerships and innovative pathways to reach those furthest from the labour market identified in the West Belfast Task Force Report. Our record of collaboration with all community, statutory, voluntary, educational and training providers in the area is superlative.

We have spent many years in the area building trust with local people and as a result can guarantee them confidentiality, equality, openness, accountability and transparency in the operation of Job Assist Centres. We will cascade our learning and good practice to others and believe that this is a vital operational aspect of Job Assist.

Partnership: promoting, developing and maintaining effective working relationships with all relevant statutory, voluntary, community organisations and employers

Promoting Social Inclusion in Employment: impacting on the legacy of multi-generational employment experienced by local people

Equality: helping to impact upon the factors such as marginalisation and structural barriers to work

Wider Impact of Unemployment: helping to reduce the social, health and wellbeing impacts of unemployment

Person-Centred Approach: maximising the potential for each person we work with to improve their employability and gain and maintain employment at the a pace that suits the individual using a holistic approach

Demand-Led Approach: embracing labour market policy which supports the demand led model

Transparency and Openness: ensuring an individual, high quality person-centred service is delivered

Respect: Valuing each client as a human being and treating them with dignity and respect and working with them in a relationship of trust

Challenging people to reach their potential: Creating the conditions to address a client’s barriers through open and honest discussion and contracting for change

Value for Money: ensuring the service is targeted at its identified beneficiaries, and its resources are used in the most efficient, effective and economic way to meet its objectives within a quality-assured service-delivery framework

Creating appropriate linkage with employers: Making the “business case” for unemployed people and achieving “best fit” for both the person and employer