Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 16 January 2013
540. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will ensure that where a host company has not complied with the criteria required for JobBridge schemes which results in termination of the scheme, that the intern would not be penalised in terms of applications for future internships. [1828/13]
View answerJobBridge, the National Internship Scheme, provides internship opportunities of either 6 or 9 months for unemployed individuals in organisations in the private, public and community voluntary sectors. It is targeted at individuals who are in receipt of certain social welfare payments (Jobseekers Allowance/Jobseekers Benefit/One Parent Family Payment/Disability Allowance) or are signing on for credits for at least 3 of the last 6 months (78 Days).
The JobBridge Scheme has made significant progress to-date since it came into operation on 1 July, 2011. A total of13,558 internships had commenced by 10 January, 2013, with 5,526 participants on an internship and 1,841 opportunities advertised on www.JobBridge.ie on that date.
If they otherwise comply with the requirements of the Scheme, the intern is not penalised in terms of applications for future internships merely on account of the Host Organisation having been removed from the Scheme on account of non-compliance with the requirements of the Scheme. In this regard, individuals may avail of up to two JobBridge internships to a maximum cumulative time period of 9 months (39 weeks).
I wish to advise the Deputy that the feedback to-date has been very positive. In particular, the interim evaluation of JobBridge conducted by Indecon International Economic Consultants (published on 5 October, 2012) states that 52.3% of JobBridge finishers progressed into employment with either their host organisation or another employer since finishing their internship. These progression rates compare favourably with European averages in this area. Given that, in the past, some labour market programmes have been seen as having insignificant or even negative impacts on employment probabilities, this suggests JobBridge is an appropriate labour market intervention.
Further information on outcomes will be ascertained as a result of the ongoing formal evaluation of JobBridge. It is anticipated that the final evaluation report will be available in the coming weeks. This evaluation will assess the design, delivery and impact of the JobBridge Scheme, it will provide details of the nature of the work experience of the participants; a measurement of the relevance of that experience to the labour market, analysis of age categories and further findings concerning progression into employment. It will also present recommendations on how the Scheme might be improved. It is at this stage that further consideration will be given to amending the terms and conditions of the Scheme. Any such amendments to the scheme will be notified via the website.
