Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 October 2013
170. Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy asked the Minister for Social Protection the procedures in place to ensure that the internships being offered under the JobBridge scheme provide the interns with the experience as advertised by the employer; if the Department has duly appointed local officials in place to liaise with both the employer and the intern during their internship; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43512/13]
View answerThe Department has a variety of monitoring and control measures in place to protect the intern and to ensure the integrity of the JobBridge scheme. An application from a host organisation must meet a number of criteria before advertisement on the JobBridge website. The internship must not displace an existing position and the host organisation must confirm that it will provide appropriate training and development as well as mentoring and support. For an internship to commence a Standard Agreement must be agreed and signed by both the intern and the host organisation setting out the terms of the internship, including the expected working hours and the specific learning outcomes the intern will gain over the course of their internship.
As part of its management of JobBridge, the Department conducts monitoring visits of host organisations to ensure they are offering their intern the work experience, training and mentoring required by the scheme. To date, over 3,000 monitoring site visits have been completed, and 98% of these visits were of a satisfactory nature. Remedial action is taken in cases of non-compliance.
In addition, an intern may contact the JobBridge team or their local social welfare office at any stage of their internship for advice and support and any individual who suspects that an internship may be in breach of the scheme’s criteria, including cases of suspected displacement and quality breaches, may contact the JobBridge team. All such matters are fully investigated. A host organisation or an employer considering participating in the scheme may also contact the JobBridge team or their local social welfare office for advice and support.
29 companies have been disqualified from participating in the scheme due to breaches of the terms and conditions. However, over 9,000 companies have participated in the scheme across all sectors and the overwhelming majority of companies are providing quality internships for jobseekers.
