National Internship Scheme Data

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 May 2016

Tuesday, 17 May 2016

Questions (505, 506, 507)

Dara Calleary

Question:

505. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of companies that have been disqualified from the JobBridge scheme following investigations by his Department, the number of recipients who were participating in the scheme in companies that were subsequently disqualified, by year since the scheme was established, by employment sector, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9856/16]

Dara Calleary

Question:

506. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Social Protection the number and percentage of participants in the JobBridge scheme who have secured paid employment within three, six, nine and 12 months of completing an internship, by year, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9857/16]

Dara Calleary

Question:

507. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons who have participated in the JobBridge national internship programme and the number who dropped out before completion, by county, by year, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9858/16]

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

I propose to take Questions Nos. 505 to 507, inclusive, together.

JobBridge, the National Internship Scheme, was introduced in July 2011 in response to the unprecedented collapse in the economy – particularly the sharp increase in unemployment.

The primary aim of the scheme is to give unemployed people the opportunity to secure work experience and prove their competence to prospective employers. To date, JobBridge has attracted the voluntary participation of over 46,500 interns, with almost 4,000 people currently on internships.

There are strict terms and conditions which host organisations must comply with in order to participate in the scheme. Failure to comply with these terms and conditions can result in imposition of sanctions against the organisation – typically suspension from participation in the scheme for an appropriate duration having regard to the nature of the breach.

To date random on-site inspections by Department staff found that the overwhelming majority of internships offered under JobBridge comply with the terms and conditions of the scheme with just 86 (less than 0.5%) of host organisations being suspended from participation for varying durations. This represents a tiny fraction of the almost 19,000 organisations who have participated in the scheme. There are no organisations currently suspended from participation in the JobBridge scheme.

The number of interns in organisations that were subsequently disqualified (by year and employment sector) since the scheme was established is set out in Table 1.

As at 1 April, 2016, 42,619 people had completed internships. 15,211 progressed immediately into employment on conclusion of the internship - 9,525 with the host organisation and 5,686 with a different organisation. This represents a progression rate of 36%. An annual breakdown of this is set out in Table 2.

Analysis of progression rates at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months post completion is not available; however, an independent evaluation conducted by Indecon Economic Consultants (Report 2013) indicated that progression to employment rate increased to 61% within 5 months or more of completion of an internship. This compares very favourably to similar schemes across the EU, where the average progression rate is 34%.

The number of persons who have participated in the JobBridge National Internship Scheme and the number who dropped out before completion, by county and by year, can be found in Tables 3, 4 and 5.

JobBridge internships last for 6 or 9 months. Just under half (46%) of all internships finish early - for a variety of reasons. Almost half (49%) of early-finishers say it is to take up employment and a further 7% go on to further education, training or another internship. About 30% leave for a variety of personal, domestic or health reasons. 14% leave early because they did not find the internship suitable, which is not surprising given that, for many, JobBridge is a first-chance opportunity and sometimes participants find that the particular career direction is not for them. The Department continues to work with them to support them with a range of alternative pathways to work.

Table 1. – The number of recipients which were participating on schemes in companies that were subsequently disqualified, by year and by employment sector since the scheme was established.

Year	Sector	No of interns	Total
2012	CHEMICALS MANUFACTURING	4	1
	CLOTHING & FOOTWEAR MANUFACTURING	2	1
	OTHER SERVICES	1	9
		2	2
		3	1
		6	1
		7	1
	OTHER SERVICES Total		14
	PRINTING & PAPER	5	1
	RETAIL/W'SALE/HOTEL/CATER	1	1
2012 Total			18
2013	INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY	45	1
	OTHER SERVICES	0	1
		1	7
		2	4
		3	2
		7	1
	OTHER SERVICES Total		15
	PRINTING & PAPER	1	1
		3	1
	PRINTING & PAPER Total		2
	RETAIL/W'SALE/HOTEL/CATER	0	1
		1	1
		2	1
		14	1
		RETAIL/W'SALE/HOTEL/CATER Total	4
2013 Total			22
2014	FINANCIAL SERVICES	1	1
	FOOD/DRINK/TOBACCO MANUFACTURING	5	1
	OTHER SERVICES	0	2
		1	11
		2	8
	OTHER SERVICES Total		21
	RETAIL/W'SALE/HOTEL/CATER	1	4
		3	2
		4	1
		RETAIL/W'SALE/HOTEL/CATER Total	7
	TRANSPORT/COMMUNICATIONS	1	1
2014 Total			31
2015	CLEANING	1	1
	CONSTRUCTION	1	1
	ENGINEERING	1	1
	FINANCIAL SERVICES	3	1
	INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY	1	1
	OTHER SERVICES	1	3
		2	1
		3	3
		29	1
	OTHER SERVICES Total		8
	RETAIL/W'SALE/HOTEL/CATER	1	1
		2	1
		RETAIL/W'SALE/HOTEL/CATER Total	2
2015 Total			15
Grand Total			86

Table 2. – JobBridge Interns who entered into employment immediately upon completion of their placement.

Year	Entered Employment
2011	188
2012	2675
2013	3543
2014	4189
2015	3821
2016	795
Total	15211

Table 3. – JobBridge Interns by County 2014

-	Finished Early	Completed in Full	Total
CARLOW	65	82	147
CAVAN	77	107	184
CLARE	130	125	255
CORK	517	525	1042
DONEGAL	164	239	403
DUBLIN	1993	1742	3735
GALWAY	356	385	741
KERRY	127	203	330
KILDARE	205	210	415
KILKENNY	70	91	161
LAOIS	78	87	165
LEITRIM	41	40	81
LIMERICK	300	328	628
LONGFORD	27	49	76
LOUTH	156	155	311
MAYO	170	194	364
MEATH	169	154	323
MONAGHAN	88	121	209
OFFALY	86	78	164
ROSCOMMON	41	58	99
SLIGO	105	132	237
TIPPERARY	165	225	390
WATERFORD	137	211	348
WESTMEATH	150	151	301
WEXFORD	145	176	321
WICKLOW	112	110	222
Total	5674	5978	11652

Table 4. – JobBridge Interns by County 2015

-	Finished Early	Completed in Full	Total
CARLOW	77	73	150
CAVAN	56	97	153
CLARE	76	132	208
CORK	422	474	896
DONEGAL	110	226	336
DUBLIN	1548	1571	3119
GALWAY	304	385	689
KERRY	153	234	387
KILDARE	209	216	425
KILKENNY	60	100	160
LAOIS	75	86	161
LEITRIM	30	47	77
LIMERICK	246	351	597
LONGFORD	37	53	90
LOUTH	143	183	326
MAYO	123	197	320
MEATH	130	163	293
MONAGHAN	74	123	197
OFFALY	70	104	174
ROSCOMMON	49	66	115
SLIGO	88	123	211
TIPPERARY	126	224	350
WATERFORD	135	214	349
WESTMEATH	117	167	284
WEXFORD	112	189	301
WICKLOW	90	131	221
Total	4660	5929	10589

JobBridge Interns by County 2016 to date - 25 March

-	Finished Early	Completed in Full	Total
CARLOW	15	12	27
CAVAN	11	15	26
CLARE	10	24	34
CORK	109	96	205
DONEGAL	25	49	74
DUBLIN	245	312	557
GALWAY	60	73	133
KERRY	31	60	91
KILDARE	42	46	88
KILKENNY	13	20	33
LAOIS	9	18	27
LEITRIM	5	12	17
LIMERICK	42	69	111
LONGFORD	7	4	11
LOUTH	38	33	71
MAYO	23	47	70
MEATH	18	25	43
MONAGHAN	10	23	33
OFFALY	11	15	26
ROSCOMMON	8	14	22
SLIGO	15	16	31
TIPPERARY	15	56	71
WATERFORD	27	53	80
WESTMEATH	32	37	69
WEXFORD	30	38	68
WICKLOW	8	26	34
Total	859	1193	2052