John Brady
Question:536. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of part-time or underemployed workers that have been referred to JobPath since its introduction. [51875/18]
View answerTuesday, 11 December 2018
Questions (536, 537, 539)
John Brady
Question:537. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans for a new JobPath scheme in 2019; her further plans for setting up similar schemes from 2019; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51876/18]
View answerJohn Brady
Question:539. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons to date who have found employment through the JobPath service; the number of persons now claiming social welfare payments having previously taken up employment through the JobPath service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51878/18]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 536, 537 and 539 together.
My Department provides a range of activation supports to enable persons in receipt of a jobseeker's payment, including people who are also in part-time employment, to move to full-time employment with a sustainable income. These supports include the JobPath Service, which was launched in July 2015.
JobPath provides an intensive personal service which focuses on the skills and experience of each person. In the case of clients already in part-time employment this would, in the first instance, focus on any options to increase the level of employment in their current role. If that is not possible the client would be encouraged to explore other opportunities including other full-time job opportunities with different employers.
To date, just over 195,000 clients have commenced their engagement period with the service . As of end October 2018, 24,185 clients who are working part-time have engaged with the service.
At present, a full econometric evaluation of the service is being conducted in conjunction with the OECD. The results of this econometric evaluation, which will provide detailed and robust statistics, will inform my Department's consideration of any future developments in this area.