I propose to take Questions Nos. 469 to 473, inclusive, together.
As the Deputy will be aware, the primary purpose of JobPath is to provide a case management based employment advice and counselling service to long term unemployed jobseekers. Between July 2015 and October 2019, some 247,296 jobseekers had commenced their engagement period with the JobPath service. Of this number, 52% were unemployed for over three years. This group, in particular, faces significant barriers when seeking to enter or return to employment in the labour market.
The numbers of clients to engage with the JobPath service for the first three years and their employment outcomes are set out in Table 1 below. It should be noted that many clients who are currently engaged with JobPath are still in the first phase of the service. They have not had sufficient time with the service to have gained employment nor sustain that employment for up to 52 weeks. Furthermore, as many clients who have commenced employment will have done so less than 52 weeks ago the numbers sustaining employment for 52 weeks is expected to increase over time. This is particularly relevant for those clients who commenced an engagement with the service in 2018.
The number of Jobseekers engaged with JobPath and the number of current subsequent engagements is set out in Table 2 below.
The number of registration fees paid in respect of JobPath referrals since 2015 as well as the number of registration fees paid in respect of the same person twice, three and four times are set out in Table 3 below. Registration fees are incurred when a client engages with the JobPath service and agrees a personal progression plan. However, due to the validation process there is a time difference between the date of the client engagement and the payment of the registration fee.
I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
Table 1: Jobseekers engaged with JobPath & Outcomes Years 1 - 3
For the purposes of the JobPath Contracts 2015 and 2016 are considered to be Contract Year 1, however, for convenience the table below is presented by calendar year.
Contract Year
|
Year
|
Jobseekers engaged with the JobPath service
|
Number of Job Starts (One per referral*)
|
Numbers who sustained 52 weeks Employment (to date)
|
Year 1
|
2015
|
6,591
|
1,659
|
644
|
Year 1
|
2016
|
65,461
|
14,413
|
5,432
|
Year 2
|
2017
|
74,869
|
21,618
|
8,762
|
Year 3
|
2018
|
60,848
|
14,505
|
3,021
|
*Jobseekers may have multiple job starts during an engagement period, however, for the purposes of the above statistics only one job start per referral has been counted.
Table 2: Jobseekers engaged with JobPath & the current number of re-engagements
|
No.
|
Total number of Jobseekers engagements with JobPath July 2015 - End-October 2019
|
247,296
|
Total number of Jobseekers to complete at least one full engagement period with JobPath.
|
138,446
|
Total number of Jobseekers currently engaged with service for the 2nd time having previously completed one full engagement period.
|
27,490
|
Total number of Jobseekers currently engaged with service for the 3rd time having previously completed two full engagement periods.
|
1,555
|
Table 3: Registration Fees Processed for payment July 2015 - End October 2019
Registration Fees Processed for payment July 2015 - November 2019
|
Total Number of Unique Clients
|
Total Registration Fees paid
|
1 registration fee paid only
|
156759
|
156759
|
2 registration fees paid only
|
42060
|
84120
|
3 registration fees paid only
|
1972
|
5916
|
4 registration fees paid only
|
14
|
56
|
Totals
|
200805
|
246851
|