The NOW Group has celebrated the graduation of more than 200 young adult participants from its range of bespoke academies at a ceremony held on Tuesday, March 29, at City Hall, Belfast.

Some of the 200 young adults who had to wait two years to graduate hailed from Fermanagh, following the postponement of the 2020 event due to the pandemic.

The NOW Group is a social enterprise that works to help people with learning difficulties and autism gain qualifications and life/work experience and support them to move into jobs with a future.

Providing a range of services, the work is about social inclusion and leads to the people they work with having better health, a better education and a brighter future.

Hosted by radio presenter Cate Conway, the graduation was attended by Alderman Tom Haire, the Deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast, NOW Group staff and participants’ family members, who travelled from Fermanagh and the rest of Northern Ireland to attend the special day.

Graduating from a range of 12 bespoke academies, including warehousing, digital, retail, tourism, cleaning, business admin and employability, the 211 graduating participants had waited patiently for their graduation day.

Praising the first NOW group gradation event since 2019, the Chief Executive of the NOW Group, Maeve Monaghan, said: “This is a day that has been much anticipated for more than 200 families, and a heartfelt congratulations and well-done to all of our graduates.

“While the skills shortage and need for greater inclusion is a daily topic of conversation amongst employers, people with disabilities are rarely mentioned as part of the solution.

“We want to play our part in changing that and bringing more diverse skills into the workplace. The NOW Group academies demonstrates the wider commitment to support our participants and to provide them with real skills and qualification to help them into the world of work.

“We want to build a build a community that recognises and rewards future innovators and leaders who can drive growth and transformation within their chosen field.”

For further information on the group, see nowgroup.org.