Social Networking Advice For Mid West Firms

Friday, 08 October 2010 09:08

Written by Noel Cotter

In response to a demand from businesses in the greater Shannon area for social media placements under the Begin Again Progamme, the Irish Centre for Business Excellence (ICBE), has introduced a Social Media training element to the programme and is now calling on jobseekers to sign up and acquire a new set of employable skills.

Given that social media marketing is a relatively new discipline, few of the candidates who applied for work placements in the call for jobseekers had experience in implementing or delivering social media elements of sales and marketing. Candidates who register for the training will be matched with a business that has applied for assistance in rolling out a social media presence, making the training realistic and the results tangible.

There is already a strong appetite among Shannon region companies to provide valuable directed workplace opportunities to people who want to get back to work, now. Many have already signed up for the ICBE Begin Again™ programme, which is being offered by the Irish Centre for Business Excellence (ICBE) under the Labour Market Activation Fund, operated by the Department of Education and Skills.

At the core of this programme is work experience. Companies can take on an experienced and qualified individual who is on the Live Register for a minimum of 3 months, for 12 weeks directed work placement experience. The individual placed in the company retains their Social Welfare benefits, while demonstrating their capabilities and helping them to secure further work opportunities beyond the placement. To ensure both the company and the individual maximise this opportunity, both mentoring support and training will be provided. It’s a win-win for both the business and the unemployed individual.

The ICBE Begin Again™ programme has identified highly qualified and experienced people, who are unemployed, in disciplines such as HR, IT, Engineering, Logistics, Retail Management and more. These candidates are ideally placed to address specific needs and challenges in your business. New candidates are being added on a daily basis. So, if you are a business and you have a project that you would like a professional unemployed person to complete on your behalf, then the ICBE Begin Again™ is the programme for you.

The ICBE Begin Again™ programme is having a huge impact for participants – of the sixty four people who are taking part in the programme, since it started in late July, twelve have either secured new jobs or have secured extended contracts with the company where they commenced the directed work placement.

As Pat O’Connor, CEO of ICBE explains: “The ICBE Begin Again™ programme is working because the applicant selects the company and the directed work placement that works best for him/her. When the right match is made, the opportunity for a long term working arrangement is greatly enhanced. The ICBE Begin Again™ programme is tapping into and providing a focused outlet for the wealth of experience, expertise and enthusiasm that exists amongst currently unemployed people, who are looking to get back into the work place.’’

So, if you are a company, who could benefit from hosting a placement under “The ICBE Begin Again™ programme, then sign up today at www.beginagain.ie where you will find all of the relevant information on the programme and you will be able to register your placement online.