Providing disadvantaged young adults with the ability to develop the digital skills necessary to build self-confidence and enter the jobs market is the latest progressive initiative undertaken by MERKUR Community. Funding has enabled Belfast-based Springboard Opportunities to purchase new laptops and software helping young adults access online learning, and develop essential skills for their future.
Young adults from some of the most marginalised communities in Northern Ireland are being helped to develop their life skills and prepare for employment thanks to funding from MERKUR Community, the social purpose programme that has supported more than 300 charities and not for profit groups throughout the UK. The award made to Belfast-based Springboard Opportunities is being used to purchase new laptops and software, replacing outdated equipment.
Springboard Opportunities, which has been working with young people for over three decades, is dedicated to creating positive, sustainable change by empowering individuals, to overcome social, emotional, and economic challenges.
Central to its work are personal development workshops, which provide participants with the tools they need to enhance their self-esteem, emotional resilience, and self-awareness. Through both group work and one-on-one support, individuals are encouraged to set personal goals, and develop the confidence to face future challenges with a positive mindset.
To help achieve this Springboard offers employability support, including CV writing, interview preparation, and work experience opportunities, all designed to ease the transition from education into the world of work or training.
The MERKUR-funded laptops will enable individuals to participate fully in tasks that are essential to their personal development and employability. These include completing online training, applying for jobs, working on CVs, collaborating on group projects, and developing the crucial ICT skills, that are vital in the digital jobs market.
Springboard Opportunities’ Laura Marley confirmed: “We are incredibly grateful to have received funding from the MERKUR Community grant, which will support young people from some of Belfast’s most marginal-ised communities. This grant has enabled us to provide modern laptops that will significantly enhance young people’s ability to engage with digital tools, access online learning, and develop essential skills for their future.”
She added: “Some of the young people that we work with live in hostel accommodation and don’t have easy access to IT but thanks to the MERKUR award are now able to build ICT skills, develop their CVs and work on group projects.”
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Laura Marley said……. “We are incredibly grateful to have received funding from the MERKUR Community grant, which will support young people from some of Belfast’s most marginalised communities……
Originally published on Coinslot on May 4, 2026. Republished with permission.