WCVA conference looks at sector’s role in tackling economic inactivity in Wales

WCVA’s first conference of 2010 will give the third sector the opportunity to hear a debate on its role in supporting out-of-work and economically inactive people.

The Cardiff City Stadium event on Monday 8 February will also allow delegates to contribute their views through a panel discussion and attend workshops to find out about related projects and programmes they can get involved in.

These include a session looking at how volunteering offers a unique opportunity to strengthen employability, and others that will look at programmes that fund organisations to support people back towards work.

Keynote speaker at the conference, Promoting economic participation: challenges and opportunities for third sector organisations, will be Government Minister for Employment and Welfare Reform Jim Knight, while Leighton Andrews, Welsh Assembly Government Minister for Children, Education and Lifelong Learning, will be putting forward the Assembly Government perspective.

‘The current recession has concentrated government minds on tackling unemployment to make sure that a generation isn’t lost to dependency and economic inactivity,’ said WCVA Chief Executive Graham Benfield OBE, who will be making the case for new initiatives that will widen the third sector’s role during his conference speech.

‘This conference will bring together the debate on the increasing role of the sector in promoting economic participation, and will also enable delegates to find out about the range of programmes and projects that provide opportunities in this area.’

Mr Benfield added that third sector organisations had historically worked with many of the groups that were now the focus of decision-makers’ priorities and were ideally placed to contribute to current Government policies.

Following workshops and a speakers’ panel discussion allowing questions from the floor, WCVA Director of Enterprise and Regeneration Phil Fiander will conclude the conference with a talk entitled What next for the third sector?

To book a place at the conference, please request a programme and booking form from WCVA’s Helpdesk on 0800 2888 329 or help@wcva.org.uk.

Alternatively, click here for the programme, and here for the booking form.

The Promoting economic participation: challenges and opportunities for third sector organisations conference is supported by Working Links, a unique public, private, voluntary organisation which operates in some of the most deprived areas of the UK to address the challenges faced by long-term unemployed people.