Minister launches new employment strategies

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons set out his plans to the Northern Ireland Assembly

A new Stormont strategy aimed at getting 50,000 more people with disabilities into employment over the next decade has been launched by the communities minister.

Gordon Lyons outlined his plans for a new Disability and Work Strategy in a statement on Monday to the Northern Ireland Assembly.

The minister also announced a new £12.4m programme to help people of working age who are on benefits to enter the jobs market.

Lyons said he wanted to "open up opportunities and to break down barriers to employment".

'We must do better'

Northern Ireland's economic inactivity rate is 26%. This means that more than 300,000 people of working age are not active in the labour market.

Almost 40% of that figure is due to ill-health or disability, according to the Department for Communities (DfC).

It said Northern Ireland has the worst disability employment rate (41.3%) - the proportion of people with disabilities who are in work - compared to the UK-wide figure of 52.8%.

The new proposed strategy aims to ensure more people with disabilities or health conditions can access an "inclusive and welcoming labour market", the department said.

Lyons said Northern Ireland's record on disability employment "has not been good enough" and "we must do better".

"I want disabled people to know that my aim is to match your ambitions for work, to create the opportunities for you to succeed and to ensure that you are supported and encouraged at every stage of your employment journey," he added.

The draft strategy includes proposals to set up a Disability and Work Council to oversee its delivery.

A 12-week public consultation on the plans will run until January 2026.

More than 100 stakeholders contributed to discussions about the plans ahead of publication.

JobStart scheme

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) minister also announced a new JobStart scheme on Monday.

It will support more than 1,200 working age benefit claimants into work.

The scheme aims to build connections between employers and workers, with participants receiving training and development opportunities.

It includes offering periods of paid employment at the national minimum wage or national living wage.

The scheme follows previous initiatives under JobStart, which first launched in 2021 and DfC said has helped more than 2,300 people into employment, education or training.

Lyons described JobStart as the "biggest jobs programme of its kind".

"I am investing in both new employees and employers to create good quality work opportunities across Northern Ireland," he added.

"It will build upon the success of previous programmes recently delivered by the department which were positively endorsed both by employers and jobseekers."