Welsh national youth organisation to create 60 new jobs to ‘rebuild’ after Covid pandemic

A Welsh language national youth organisation has announced that they are launching a recruitment campaign to “rebuild” after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The boost in recruitment has been made possible due to the recent financial support by the Welsh Government, they said.

Pre-Covid-19, the Urdd was the largest Welsh language employer within the third sector in Wales, with 328 members of staff.

But the organisation was forced to cut its workforce by more than a half (54%) because of the pandemic.

The additional funding worth £1.3M by the Welsh Government will help safeguard key jobs, enable the Urdd to rebuild and create new job opportunities ahead of its centenary in 2022, they said.

“Supporting the younger generation is more important now than ever,” said the Urdd’s Chief Executive, Siân Lewis.

“Children and young people have been affected more than anyone by the pandemic, and our recovery work focuses primarily on supporting the health and wellbeing of our youth, as well as providing vital job opportunities and invaluable training through the medium of Welsh.”

‘Impact’

The recruitment campaign offers 60 full-time jobs across the organisation’s departments, located in centres and offices all over Wales, and includes 20 vacancies within the Apprenticeship Department.

The Urdd’s award-winning Apprenticeship Programme aims to develop and nurture “a young, confident, and bilingual workforce” and has “benefited hundreds of young Welsh people since its inception,” the Urdd said.

“As a voluntary, not-for-profit organisation, every penny of our income is reinvested to improve the lives of the youth of Wales,” Siân Lewis added.

“This latest grant from the Welsh Government is a significant boost as we start to rebuild following the impact of Covid-19 on our services and staffing situation. We also know the value of training, and firmly believe that hiring apprentices is an investment in the future.”

A complete list of all vacancies can be seen on the Urdd’s website.

Urdd Gobaith Cymru was established by Sir Ifan ab Owen Edwards in 1922. The organisation now boasts over has 56,000 members, belonging to over 900 branches.

Their tentpole Urdd National Eisteddfod, which is usually held every May, is one of Europe’s largest youth festivals. It has been called off these past two years due to the pandemic.