Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 February 2013
420. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons that have now taken part in the jobbridge programme; the number of participants on the programme that have gone on to obtain full time employment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5236/13]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, JobBridge, 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. 14,149 internships had commenced by 31st January, 2013, with 5,565 participants on an internship and 1,909 opportunities advertised on www.JobBridge.ie on that date.
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 61% of JobBridge finishers progressed into employment with either their host organisation or another employer within 5 months of finishing their internship. These progression rates compare very 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 and it is at that 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.
