In recent years, charities and social enterprises have become a driving force behind employment growth and skills development across the region’s sectors, which has contributed to steady economic progress in Northern Ireland, writes Greg McKinley, Director of Operations at The Gallaher Trust.
The Department for the Economy’s (DfE) June 2025 Labour Market Statistics report highlights positive trends with employee jobs reaching a new series high of over 800,000 in March 2025, which is a 2.1% increase from the previous year with growth seen in the manufacturing, construction and services industries.
This news is a welcome development but despite this, we are currently facing a crossroads. As reported in DfE’s July Labour Market Statistics, unemployment levels are at a record low of 2.1% but Northern Ireland is still short by more than 5,400 skilled individuals each year to meet the needs of high growth industries over the next decade, as cited in the Skills Barometer report released earlier this year. This could be seen as a missed opportunity for thousands of adults across the province who have ‘fallen through the cracks,’ and this is exactly where the charity sector becomes so vital and has the ability to make a profound difference in tackling the shortfall.
Charities like The Gallaher Trust are playing a key role in helping to deliver targeted training programmes for disadvantaged adults, that will support career transitions and provide employment opportunities with local employers, in turn boosting the wider economy. In offering this support, charities are ultimately creating launchpads for individuals seeking sustainable, purpose-driven careers.
Since its inception in 2017, The Gallaher Trust has committed £2.7 million to delivery partner projects across numerous sectors including hospitality, manufacturing, business enterprise and further education. The results so far have been significant with 431 new jobs created, over 1,600 people upskilled and support for more than 1,800 disadvantaged adults in the Ballymena area.
The Trust is in the process of confirming its 2025/26 delivery partner projects, injecting further circa £430k bolstering the progression of the Ballymena economy through job creation, skills development and initiatives that will assist disadvantaged adults.
We’ve seen first-hand the impact these projects have made on people’s lives. They have helped young adults attend university, individuals to retrain in new sectors, entrepreneurs to launch and scale their businesses, parents to gain new qualifications after years of being out of work and individuals to secure their first role within a growing industry. Each success story and achievement is proof that when you combine skills development and training with job opportunities, you can not only provide career paths, but you can transform lives.
This International Day of Charity (Friday 5th September) is a reminder of just how important the sector is to both Northern Ireland’s wider economy and our local communities. Charities don’t just give people a foundation to build upon, they help propel them forward to reach their fullest potential. At The Gallaher Trust, we truly believe that when people thrive, our communities do as well and it’s our mission to ensure that the projects we support will continue to have a profound effect on the community well into the future.
