Councillor Waseem Zaffar hosted an important community roundtable

Birmingham: Councillor Waseem Zaffar hosted an important community roundtable with representatives of schools, faith groups, community groups and activists from Lozells, Handsworth, Aston, Perry Barr, Newtown and Handsworth Wood to discuss how the community can come together to tackle gaps in skills in the community and ultimately the high levels of unemployment in the community.

The community roundtable that took place at the Prince Albert High School in Perry Barr had keynote contributions from representatives of the Arthur Terry Learning Academy, the Trent and Tame Language Hub and national training provider Net Comm as well as the Chief Executive of the Prince Albert Community Trust.

The event chaired by Councillor Waseem Zaffar discussed how the high levels of unemployment are contributing to inequalities in the community as well as the key barriers to the community in accessing good quality jobs.

A detailed debate took place about the importance of connecting community groups with training providers who are resourced and accredited to provide skills development opportunities that can assist in accessing good quality jobs. Several participants from a wide range of organisations committed to development partnerships for mutual benefit to take up the offers from the training providers.

A detailed discussion also took place about how opportunities can be created to ensure that young people are picking up formal accredited qualifications in a wide range of community languages including Urdu, Bengali, Hindi, Arabic, Somalian and Punjabi. This project would require teachers, examiners and assessors from the local community creating employment opportunities.

Report by S M Irfan Tahir Photojournalist / Member National Union of Journalists (NUJ) Great Britain.