Jill Evans MEP will tomorrow (Tuesday) host the European launch of three Welsh development partnerships which aim to help excluded groups of people into work using the EUs EQUAL funding programme.

The Cyfenter Development Partnership, Development Employability Equality Partnership (DEEP) and North East Wales development partnership Cyfartal will visit the European Parliament in Brussels at the invitation of Ms Evans, who is Vice-Chairperson of the Parliament’s Committee for Equal Opportunities and a member of the Committee for Employment and Social Affairs.

Speaking from Brussels Ms Evans, who is the leader of Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales in the European Parliament, said:

"I’m glad to be able to help promote these important initiatives which are going to deliver the EQUAL programme of activity in Wales during the next three years. Women, lone parents, ethnic minorities, disabled, young people, Welsh speakers, those over fifty years of age and others will all receive support from these three organisations."

"Excluded groups can often find it more difficult to secure employment or set up their own businesses in Wales and the Cyfenter, DEEP and Cyfartal Development Partnerships will hopefully provide a helping hand to many groups of people who, given the opportunity, can make a positive contribution to the Welsh economy."

DEEP and Cyfartal Development Partnerships will specifically focus on facilitating access to the labour market for excluded groups of people who have difficulty in being intergrated or reintergrated into the workplace. Cyfenter on the other hand will focus on entrepreneurship and developing solutions to the barriers particular groups of individuals face when setting up, sustaining, and growing a business in Wales.

DEEP and Cyfenter are match funded by the Welsh Development Agency (WDA) whilst Cyfartal is match funded by Wrexham, Flintshire and Denbighshire County Council.

Ms Evans added,

"I hope that this launch will provide the opportunity to highlight the work being done in Wales and to ensure that European policy makers are aware of their role in the dissemination of outcomes of the EQUAL funded projects."

Notes for the Editor

Funded through the European Social Fund, Equal is an initiative which tests and promotes new means of combating all forms of discrimination and inequalities in the labour market, both for those in work and for those seeking work. It concentrates on the four themes of Employability, Entrepeneurship, Adaptability and Equal Opportunities.

Diwedd/Ends.