The Irish medium sector needs qualified employees, with demand for new staff outstripping supply, according to a new social enterprise.
Known as GaelChúrsaí it was launched recently to provide jobs for the growing number of young people being educated in Irish.
The company is the only training and employment provider geared solely to preparing young people to fill the jobs requiring Irish speakers, such as childcare workers, IT technicians and business support staff.
Colma McKee, director of GaelChúrsaí said: “Despite the current difficult economic conditions, the Irish language sector is continuing to grow and we are seeing a very high success rate in finding employment for our trainees.
“Indeed, because of the sector’s rapid growth, employers are finding it difficult filling Irish speaking jobs. It is our role to provide a skilled and motivated labour force to meet demand and maintain the sector’s development.”
It is estimated that by 2020 there will be 15,000 children being educated in Irish in Northern Ireland, more than three times the current total of nearly 5,000, which will mean a proportionate rise in jobs to support the sector.
GaelChúrsaí is currently training more than 100 young people, many of whom attended Northern Ireland’s only Irish medium secondary school Coláiste Feirste, to place them with local employers requiring Irish speakers.
Attending the launch at An Culturlann in West Belfast, Education Minister, John O’Dowd, stressed the importance of GaelChúrsaí’s role in training young Irish speakers: “We have seen the rapid growth of the Irish medium education sector in the north in recent years. It is therefore vitally important that our Irish speakers are well prepared for employment, ensuring that they are equipped with the necessary skills required to venture out into the world of work.
“I believe that GaelChúrsaí can make an important contribution in making this happen and wish them every success in the future.”
GaelChúrsaí is an accredited training provider, which delivers training for young people as part of programmes through the Department of Employment and Learning and the Department of Education. It is a new start social enterprise participating in the Invest NI Social Entrepreneurship Programme.