Prince and Princess of Wales visit Belfast youth employment project Neon

Right · 1The Prince and Princess of Wales visited Belfast on 9 October 2026 to highlight an employment initiative meant to steer young people away from homelessness. 1 Right · 2The Irish Independent described the trip as a surprise visit to Northern Ireland, and GB News also called it a surprise. 2 1 Right · 1The visit centres on the New Employment Opportunities Network, known as Neon, a pilot programme run through Homewards that connects vulnerable young people with sustainable work. 1

Right · 1The couple began at The Commons, a former church on Belfast's Ormeau Road that has been repurposed as a community hub, where they met employers, support organisations and young participants. 1 Right · 1Homewards is the Prince's five-year initiative aimed at making homelessness rare, brief and unrepeated, and it developed Neon as a business-led network of employers, employability services, public bodies and community partners. 1 Right · 1Neon was first trialled in Northern Ireland in 2025 and has focused on care-experienced young people; seven employers have taken on 21 young people through the network. 1

Right · 1GB News cited statistics that a quarter of care leavers in Northern Ireland are not in education, employment or training, and that roughly two-thirds become homeless within a decade of leaving care. 1 Right · 1Lessons from the pilot are being used to shape local networks in four additional Homewards locations across the UK, with major national employers also committing to the approach. The Belfast gathering was the first at which Neon Chairs from all Homewards sites met leading employers and delivery partners. 1