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Email Newsletter (March 2022)

Welcome back to the Spring edition of the VCSE Sectoral Advisory Panel Newsletter. This month we are spotlighting the work of the Belfast Labour Market Partnership, which Panel member Susan Russam sits on. Do also read our blog piece for our thoughts on Belfast’s Shared Challenge of Poverty and Climate Change.


Spotlight: Belfast Labour Market Partnership

Over the last 12 months Belfast City Council has been involved in developing and setting up a local Labour Market Partnership (LMP) with funding made available from the Department for Communities (DfC) and Department for the Economy (DfE) and intended to be a cross-governmental approach to co-designing a sustainable future strategic employment offer.

The purpose of the Resilience and Sustainability Board is to support the aim of transitioning Belfast to an inclusive, net zero emission, climate resilient economy in a generation.

Within Belfast, an Interim LMP was established in 2021 – with representation from the VCSE Panel – to undertake an Employability & Skills strategic assessment of the city in terms of the four areas outlined below, which formed the intelligence needed to underpin the creation of the LMP Action Plan over an initial eighteen-month period:

  • Supply (people)
  • Demand (employment)
  • Provision
  • Policy

Labour Market Observatory

Belfast LMP is beginning the process of setting up a Labour Market Observatory in the city as a new way of bringing together intelligence, data and information on key elements making up the labour market in an area including demand (job opportunities/vacancies); supply (people looking for jobs or better jobs); provision (education, training, etc) and policy (e.g. Belfast Agenda, 10X, etc) concentrated into one central resource. This resource will be openly available to anyone in the city - job seekers/students, intermediaries, policymakers, training/education providers, as well as investors and employers - to provide intelligence and evidence of labour market trends and guidance to build better opportunities and pathways. While this will take time and involve many sources of information it will, when established, give an unprecedented microscopic view of what the labour market looks like in the short, medium and long term.

Gateway Service

One way to help people make informed career choices is to provide independent information, advice and guidance. While range of local provision and support structures exist in the city, it can be very difficult for both the service to engage those further back in the labour market and for these individuals to navigate and ensure they are at the right place for them. For many people, the range of services and provision can be confusing and many opt out of accessing services because of not knowing which is the right one or fear of going to the wrong one. Gateway will be a specialist triage support resource which will support individuals through referrals to appropriate provision, job matching/ brokerage and utilise all existing funding mechanisms and interventions, including health, with the ultimate goal of getting more of those further back in the labour market to engage in the provision that will support their employability and skills journey. Gateway will work closely with the Careers Service, Jobs & Benefits office (JBO) Work Coaches, relevant health services and local VCSE organisations for quality, up to date, impartial and independent advice tailored to individual needs and career aspirations.

While the above shows only two initiatives which the Belfast LMP is seeking to establish, other activities will happen as a direct result from the LMP being flexible to change and meet the needs of the city at any given time.

It is hoped that the Belfast LMP will be able to formally launch itself through an Employability and Skills conference in June 2022 which it is hoped will become a regular event in the city which will not only showcase good practice and policy issues but also continue to bring together key players across all strands to discuss current and future issues facing people looking for employment and employers looking for people in our city and beyond.


Blog: Poverty and Climate Change - Belfast's Shared Challenge

The current cost of living crisis and focus on climate change has concentrated our minds on the important issues and shone a light on how the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector have been supporting people to make changes and deliver better outcomes for communities.

With the ongoing review of the Belfast Agenda (the city’s first community plan) underway, there is an opportunity to place people and communities at the heart of what needs to be done in the city.

Recent work by The Institute for Public Policy Research, Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Zero Carbon Campaign reflects on a just transition to equitable net zero and sets out a number of principles and recommendations to tackle this issue, including targeted regulation and inclusive processes.


The VCSE Community Conference in 2021 was an opportunity to begin to explore the key policy changes needed to deliver the prosperity and environmental aspirations of people and communities across the city, through the lens of behavioural change. How do we simultaneously drive individual and organisational change? How do we confront the shared challenge of prompting conversation between decision makers, who often work in silos?

Whilst the eyes of the world were on Glasgow in 2021 for COP26, debating issues of carbon emissions and net-zero, it is often unappreciated that people from lower-income communities contribute least to causing climate change but are more likely to be negatively affected by it, and their voices often go unheard in decision making.

With some initial government investment, it is in fact the poorest in our city who have the most to benefit from sustainable action. A well-insulated home can drastically cut fuel bills and keep homes warmer, proper investment in public transport will reduce C02 emissions whilst simultaneously providing affordable transport.

Whilst the difficulty of these challenges cannot be underestimated, it is only with the involvement of all sections of society that we can begin to move the dial on poverty and sustainability.


VCSE Community Conference 2021 Feedback Report

The full report from our 2021 VCSE Community Conference is now available on the Your Say Belfast platform.

The report offers an insight into the conversations and discussions that took place across the keynote talks, Speaker Q&A session and participant workshops, as well as a summary of the feedback from the sector and subsequent actions.

To access the report please click here.


Belfast Agenda Review

The Review of the Belfast Agenda has progressed to an action planning phase, where partners are “continuing the conversation” by asking stakeholders for their view on specific objectives and targets which will measure our collective success over the next 4 years. You can read the emerging proposals that community planning partners have prepared based on what the public have said to date.

To get involved and have your say, follow this link: https://yoursay.belfastcity.gov.uk/priorities-for-belfast-and-action-planning

Get in touch

Have a question for the panel or want to comment on some of the work to date? Follow the link here and submit your question at the bottom of the page.


Archived Newsletters

Thank you for being part of the VCSE Citywide Network. We look forward to continued engagement and communication.

Email Newsletter (March 2022)

Welcome back to the Spring edition of the VCSE Sectoral Advisory Panel Newsletter. This month we are spotlighting the work of the Belfast Labour Market Partnership, which Panel member Susan Russam sits on. Do also read our blog piece for our thoughts on Belfast’s Shared Challenge of Poverty and Climate Change.


Spotlight: Belfast Labour Market Partnership

Over the last 12 months Belfast City Council has been involved in developing and setting up a local Labour Market Partnership (LMP) with funding made available from the Department for Communities (DfC) and Department for the Economy (DfE) and intended to be a cross-governmental approach to co-designing a sustainable future strategic employment offer.

The purpose of the Resilience and Sustainability Board is to support the aim of transitioning Belfast to an inclusive, net zero emission, climate resilient economy in a generation.

Within Belfast, an Interim LMP was established in 2021 – with representation from the VCSE Panel – to undertake an Employability & Skills strategic assessment of the city in terms of the four areas outlined below, which formed the intelligence needed to underpin the creation of the LMP Action Plan over an initial eighteen-month period:

  • Supply (people)
  • Demand (employment)
  • Provision
  • Policy

Labour Market Observatory

Belfast LMP is beginning the process of setting up a Labour Market Observatory in the city as a new way of bringing together intelligence, data and information on key elements making up the labour market in an area including demand (job opportunities/vacancies); supply (people looking for jobs or better jobs); provision (education, training, etc) and policy (e.g. Belfast Agenda, 10X, etc) concentrated into one central resource. This resource will be openly available to anyone in the city - job seekers/students, intermediaries, policymakers, training/education providers, as well as investors and employers - to provide intelligence and evidence of labour market trends and guidance to build better opportunities and pathways. While this will take time and involve many sources of information it will, when established, give an unprecedented microscopic view of what the labour market looks like in the short, medium and long term.

Gateway Service

One way to help people make informed career choices is to provide independent information, advice and guidance. While range of local provision and support structures exist in the city, it can be very difficult for both the service to engage those further back in the labour market and for these individuals to navigate and ensure they are at the right place for them. For many people, the range of services and provision can be confusing and many opt out of accessing services because of not knowing which is the right one or fear of going to the wrong one. Gateway will be a specialist triage support resource which will support individuals through referrals to appropriate provision, job matching/ brokerage and utilise all existing funding mechanisms and interventions, including health, with the ultimate goal of getting more of those further back in the labour market to engage in the provision that will support their employability and skills journey. Gateway will work closely with the Careers Service, Jobs & Benefits office (JBO) Work Coaches, relevant health services and local VCSE organisations for quality, up to date, impartial and independent advice tailored to individual needs and career aspirations.

While the above shows only two initiatives which the Belfast LMP is seeking to establish, other activities will happen as a direct result from the LMP being flexible to change and meet the needs of the city at any given time.

It is hoped that the Belfast LMP will be able to formally launch itself through an Employability and Skills conference in June 2022 which it is hoped will become a regular event in the city which will not only showcase good practice and policy issues but also continue to bring together key players across all strands to discuss current and future issues facing people looking for employment and employers looking for people in our city and beyond.


Blog: Poverty and Climate Change - Belfast's Shared Challenge

The current cost of living crisis and focus on climate change has concentrated our minds on the important issues and shone a light on how the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector have been supporting people to make changes and deliver better outcomes for communities.

With the ongoing review of the Belfast Agenda (the city’s first community plan) underway, there is an opportunity to place people and communities at the heart of what needs to be done in the city.

Recent work by The Institute for Public Policy Research, Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Zero Carbon Campaign reflects on a just transition to equitable net zero and sets out a number of principles and recommendations to tackle this issue, including targeted regulation and inclusive processes.


The VCSE Community Conference in 2021 was an opportunity to begin to explore the key policy changes needed to deliver the prosperity and environmental aspirations of people and communities across the city, through the lens of behavioural change. How do we simultaneously drive individual and organisational change? How do we confront the shared challenge of prompting conversation between decision makers, who often work in silos?

Whilst the eyes of the world were on Glasgow in 2021 for COP26, debating issues of carbon emissions and net-zero, it is often unappreciated that people from lower-income communities contribute least to causing climate change but are more likely to be negatively affected by it, and their voices often go unheard in decision making.

With some initial government investment, it is in fact the poorest in our city who have the most to benefit from sustainable action. A well-insulated home can drastically cut fuel bills and keep homes warmer, proper investment in public transport will reduce C02 emissions whilst simultaneously providing affordable transport.

Whilst the difficulty of these challenges cannot be underestimated, it is only with the involvement of all sections of society that we can begin to move the dial on poverty and sustainability.


VCSE Community Conference 2021 Feedback Report

The full report from our 2021 VCSE Community Conference is now available on the Your Say Belfast platform.

The report offers an insight into the conversations and discussions that took place across the keynote talks, Speaker Q&A session and participant workshops, as well as a summary of the feedback from the sector and subsequent actions.

To access the report please click here.


Belfast Agenda Review

The Review of the Belfast Agenda has progressed to an action planning phase, where partners are “continuing the conversation” by asking stakeholders for their view on specific objectives and targets which will measure our collective success over the next 4 years. You can read the emerging proposals that community planning partners have prepared based on what the public have said to date.

To get involved and have your say, follow this link: https://yoursay.belfastcity.gov.uk/priorities-for-belfast-and-action-planning

Get in touch

Have a question for the panel or want to comment on some of the work to date? Follow the link here and submit your question at the bottom of the page.


Archived Newsletters

Thank you for being part of the VCSE Citywide Network. We look forward to continued engagement and communication.