Sinn Féin MLA Caoimhe Archibald has welcomed confirmation from Communities Minister Carál Ní Chuilín that she is bringing forward a bespoke youth employability scheme that will be designed to meet the needs of local employers and will be inclusive, particularly for young people with disabilities.

The party’s economy spokesperson said:

“I welcome confirmation from the Communities Minister that she will be bringing forward a bespoke youth employability scheme for the north, following the allocation of funding for the Kickstart scheme in Britain.

“A number of concerns has been highlighted about the scheme in Britain and the Minister has outlined that the scheme here will meet the needs of local employers and will be inclusive, particularly for young people with disabilities who are job-ready.

“The Minister has also confirmed that the requirement of a minimum of 30 employees in place in Britain will be removed and allow our scheme to support single job creation within the north of Ireland.

“This will be welcome to local businesses, the majority of which are SMEs and wouldn’t have met the criteria.”