Cllr Nial Ring welcomes Docklands construction worker employment initiative

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A course specifically for construction workers looking to improve their skills has proven very successful An employment service aimed at helping construction workers reach their full potential has been welcomed by Dublin City Councillor, Nial Ring. The Eastside+Docklands Local Employment Service (LES) has been to the fore in attempting to take advantage of the employment opportunities afforded by the Development of Dublin Docklands and yesterday ten construction workers graduated from the first ever Eastside+Docklands Local Employment Service (LES) Construction Skills Course with employment secured or in process of being secured. Commenting on the success of the programme at the graduating ceremony, where he presented the certificates, Councillor Nial Ring said: "This brilliant initiative of the Eastside+Docklnads LES in setting up this course has to be welcomed and the drivers behind the initiative Jim Hargis and Henrietta Kerrigan have brought this dream to reality".

"Such is the success of this first course, the sponsors have funded a further four courses and DCC, Dublin Port, the Department of Social Protection, the inner City renewal Group and St.Andrew's resource Centre must be applauded for supporting these courses" he said. "The participants are all locally based, long term and very long term unemployed, a particularly difficult group to move into employment and the aim has been to deliver accessible course that demonstrates real work skills to employers. "The participants undertake the course in real work like conditions, including clocking in and out and complete a suite of construction focused skills including safe pass, manual handling, working at heights, banksman/spotter training and access tower training, many of which skills are a legal requirement for working in constriction" he added. "The real success of the course can be measured in real employment opportunities already achieved. The placement of the course one students is progressing and 40% have been placed in 24 hours since the course end. "Hopefully the rest will also achieve meaningful employment as word of this excellent preparatory course filters out to docklands employers. "The docklands continues to develop apace and the long term unemployed can, through courses like this, get real, meaningful and long term employment right on their doorstep" he concluded.