18/09/2026
🌟 FROM WPEP TO A PERMANENT JOB! 🌟
We love sharing success stories — and this one from Bammedia in Drogheda is a fantastic example of what can happen when the right employer, candidate, and support come together. 💚
In January 2026, Bammedia was introduced to the Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP) by Kellie from EmployAbility Service Louth. Elena joined the Bammedia team through WPEP in February — and just six months later, she secured a permanent part-time position with the company!
Cormac Kerrigan, Managing Director of Bammedia, said As a small agency, taking
on additional staff is a genuine risk. WPEP removed that risk without diluting
the value of the placement. The six-month structure gave both us and the
candidate a real opportunity to establish whether the fit was right, with the
training and review framework ensuring it remained a development programme
rather than simply an extra pair of hands.
Kellie’s role in this
cannot be overstated. She initially approached us with a candidate already well
matched to what we do, and when we were already busy with client deadlines in
January, Kellie assisted in every way; preparing the paperwork, building out
the training plan, attending regular reviews, and stayed in regular contact
with both us and the candidate throughout.
Tracey Smith of the
Department of Social Protection conducted both monitoring reviews and was
equally straightforward to deal with; flexible on scheduling, clear on what was
required of us, and constructive in her approach. The reviews were genuinely
useful to us as they shaped the training we provided.
Elena initially joined
our team in February 2026 on the placement and then took up a permanent
part-time position with Bammedia in August of that year. She’s been an
excellent addition to the studio; capable, quick to learn. She is exactly the
kind of hire a small agency hopes to make and rarely finds.
We would recommend WPEP
and the WSS schemes without hesitation to any small business considering them,
and we would definitely recommend both Kellie and Tracey specifically. The
schemes work because the people administering them make them work.
📍 EmployAbility Service Louth
💚 Supporting people. Supporting employers. Creating opportunities.
👏 Thank you to for sharing your WPEP success story with us!
