KESS- Resilient Workforces in Northern Ireland: Considerations When Legislating

RESILIENT WORKFORCES IN NORTHERN IRELAND:

CONSIDERATIONS WHEN LEGISLATING

Parliament Buildings – Long Gallery

1.30pm: RaISe Researcher – Welcome

1.35pm: Assembly Committee Chair – Opening Remarks

1.45pm: Developing an Emotionally Resilient Workforce Through PEACE of Mind

Dr Natalie Divin, Dr Jessica Carr, Professor Denise Whitelock and Professor Christothea Herodotou, Institute of Educational Technology (IET), The Open University

The PEACE of Mind Project (https://iet.open.ac.uk/projects/peace-of-mind) at The Open University is relevant to discussion regarding a number of legislative proposals in Northern Ireland – most notably the proposed 16-18s in Education and Training Bill (https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/articles/16-18-legislation), the proposed Good Jobs Employment Rights Bill (https://www.niassembly.gov.uk/assembly-business/official-report/written-ministerial-statements/department-for-economy---good-jobs-employment-rights-bill/) and the introduced Regional Balance Bill (https://www.niassembly.gov.uk/assembly-business/legislation/2022-2027-mandate/primary-legislation-bills-22-27-mandate/regional-balance-bill/). The Project – co-designed to reflect the needs of young people in both jurisdictions on this island – offers tailored six-week wellbeing interventions using a shared curriculum that seeks to support the wellbeing, resilience and life skills of over 25,000 young people aged 9-25 across the island of Ireland. It operates across a range of settings, including mainstream secondary schools, special schools and youth groups.

Highlighting the importance of cross-border, evidence-based and trauma-informed perspectives in policy and law-making, the presentation sets out emergent findings from the Project that provide practical, evidence-based insight into how youth wellbeing can be supported to address key societal and economic challenges including declining education participation and increasing numbers of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET); all relevant to discussion about the noted bills, both their development and their potential implementation. For example, the proposed 16-18s in Education and Training Bill (https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/articles/16-18-legislation) aims to address barriers and sustain participation and successful transition pathways. Public consultation responses (https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/publications/16-18-legislation-consultation-response) addressing those proposals evidenced nearly half of young respondents citing “emotional health and anxiety” as a barrier to continuing education or training; substantiating the need for effective intervention methods. Early PEACE of Mind findings from nearly 700 young people demonstrate that targeted, low-intensity interventions can significantly improve young people’s confidence, communication, and ability to manage challenges, supporting both engagement in education and transitions into employment.

The Project’s development and use of creative intervention methods such as bibliotherapy and group work can teach youth lessons, such as coping skills to manage life challenges, communication skills, empathy, resilience and compassion. A key feature of the PEACE of Mind intervention is its Peer Mentor Model; aimed to equip young people, including participants with learning disabilities, with skills to support their peers, while also embed wellbeing interventions within their communities. The Peer Mentor Model, alongside the Project’s co-developed Digital PEACE of Mind Portal and its forthcoming free Open University Online Course, offer a scalable mechanism to embed these skills within education pathways. The presentation highlights how the Project’s online resources ensure digital sustainability to continuously support and upskill young people.

As the noted bills individually aim to address socio-economic inequality, and wellbeing can play a central role in addressing such inequality, the presentation explains how the Project’s methodology offers low-intensity, cost-effective, inclusive and sustainable interventions to support young people into and through a positive education/training experience. It outlines how the Project’s ready-to-implement, evidence-informed model could directly inform both the development and potential implementation of these legislative proposals – 16-18s in Education and Training Bill (https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/articles/16-18-legislation), Good Jobs Employment Rights Bill (https://www.niassembly.gov.uk/assembly-business/official-report/written-ministerial-statements/department-for-economy---good-jobs-employment-rights-bill/) and Regional Balance Bill (https://www.niassembly.gov.uk/assembly-business/legislation/2022-2027-mandate/primary-legislation-bills-22-27-mandate/regional-balance-bill/) – if the bills would be enacted as proposed/introduced; and help increase Northern Ireland’s capacity when seeking

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