Debate contribution: NEETs
Debate contribution by Dr Caoimhe Archibald on .
- MLA
- Dr Caoimhe Archibald
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 22 September 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- NEETs
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5123823
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I thank the Member for her question. As I mentioned in my previous answer, the Department delivers Skills for Life and Work, which is a vocational education and training programme that is focused primarily on entry level and level 1, providing a guaranteed training place for young people aged 16 and 17 who have left school with low or no qualifications. The programme supports those who have very low or no prior achievement on their journey towards further education, employment or an apprenticeship, and it serves a cohort of young people who face significant barriers to engagement in work and learning. My officials are also working with training providers to identify progression pathways for programmes to better support outcomes for young people. We also support the PEACE PLUS youth programme, which targets young people aged from 14 to 24 who are disadvantaged, marginalised or at risk of involvement with violent or paramilitary activity. Typically, those young people have disengaged from mainstream provision. Participants can develop their capabilities in areas such as good relations, personal development and employability, alongside a focus on identifying the next step of their journey.
188 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.03 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.99).
- Subject area: Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.44 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.99 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.01 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism | 0.53 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.15 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.15 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.13 |
| Education structures, integration and community division | 0.03 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:12 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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