Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 January 2014
362. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons with a FETAC qualification level of seven or more who have taken part in the JobBridge scheme; the numbers of level 7, level 8, level 9 and level 10 separately; the number in each category who went on to employment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3573/14]
View answer387. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons who secure full employment after engaging in the JobBridge scheme; the number of these employees who remain with the original hosting company under the scheme when the internship period is over; if she has any concerns with the potential abuse of employees under the JobBridge scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3854/14]
View answer410. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the difficulties created by JobBridge rules which prevent an intern being taken on by a sole trader who does not have one full-time employee; if her attention has been drawn to the implications this may have for persons wishing to learn a trade in the crafts area, such as woodcarving; the plans she has to address this anomaly; the plans she has to introduce any exemptions to this rule; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4051/14]
View answerIt is proposed to take Questions Nos. 362, 387 and 410 together.
The Department does not collect statistics on the FETAC qualifications of JobBridge interns. However, an independent evaluation of the scheme found that 35.9% of interns hold qualifications below primary degree level, with 22.4% of interns having a postgraduate qualification. The evaluation also found that 53.9% of graduate (including post graduate) former interns and 48.1% of non-graduate interns moved into paid employment on completion of their internship.
The independent evaluation also found that 61.4% of former interns had progressed into employments within 5 months of finishing their internship. Of those who were in employment, 55.5% were employed by their host organization, 16.9% were employed by another organisation in the same sector as their host organisation and 27.6% were employed in another sector.
The Department’s requirement that a host organisation must have at least one employee to be eligible to participate in JobBridge is one of a range of measures the Department has put in place to safeguard the intern. To ensure that the internship experience will include learning drawn from the example and experience of peers in host organisations. This will ultimately enhance the internship experience for the intern and will significantly increase their learning and development thereby increasing their employability.
As the Deputy will be aware, I recently launched an initiative: JobBridge in the Craft Sector in conjunction with the Crafts Council of Ireland. This allows an individual craftsperson to pass on their skills and experiences to an intern. Following the initial success of this initiative, I recently extended the number of placements to 100. Further information, including how to participate in this initiative is available from the Crafts Council of Ireland.
