Vol. 515 No. 4
36 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the numbers engaged in second chance education schemes operated by his Department; his views on whether these schemes are relevant to labour market needs; the decline in the take-up of these schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6105/00]
As part of its employment support services, my Department provides a wide range of second chance education opportunities for unemployed people, lone parents and people with disabilities.
The objective in providing these opportunities is to raise educational and skills levels among the long-term unemployed to help them in their search for employment.
The courses covered under the back to education allowance scheme range from basic education in areas such as literacy to a wide and diverse range of third level and post-graduate courses of study. The scheme targets resources at those most at risk from long-term unemployment and is intended to equip those who participate with the educational qualifications necessary to secure employment in a labour market with an expanding demand for graduates. I believe that the programmes are extremely relevant and worthwhile in the context of the current labour market.
In January 1998, I merged the separate second and third level allowance schemes into one unified back to education allowance scheme. There has been no decline in the numbers participating in the scheme. In fact, the number of participants has grown from 67 in the inaugural academic year 1990-1, to 5,317 in the current academic year.
