Offaly Local Development Company hosts Kilcormac showcase

Offaly Local Development Company held its company showcase and programme launch at St Joseph’s Community Centre, Kilcormac, on Wednesday last, May 29.

The purpose of this event was to give agencies, communities, enterprises and individuals a chance to meet the board and staff of Offaly Local Development Company and hear about the supports, both existing and new, that are on offer for the people of Offaly.

They showcased their work under four key pillars: Employment & Enterprise, Rural Development, Social Inclusion and Sustainable Communities.

New CEO, Roisin Lennon, said that "OLDC works with individuals and communities to build Offaly into the place they want it to be and the only way that is achieved is through partnership".

During the launch of their Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP), LEADER Rural Development Programme and new Workability programme, PLACE, Padraig Boland, a member of Offaly Local Development Company’s Board of Directors said: "OLDC is an enabler of empowerment – we don’t exist solely as a service provider but our primary function is to enable people and communities to identify their own needs and strengths and develop their own pathway to sustainability’"

Those around the county will already be quite familiar with both LEADER and SICAP as a result of the work of both of these in Offaly over the past number of years and therefore welcomed the launch of new programmes that began in 2024.

PLACE, a new Pobal funded programme, was also launched at this event. This supports the progression of those with disabilities as they move into employment, through both supports for the client through personal development, confidence building and skill progression and also supports for the employers through increased awareness of funding, training and how to make the workplace inclusive of all.

For more information on the work of Offaly Local Development Company, visit www.offalyldc.ie